purchasing a bit of land to extend back garden

eidand

Hi all,
this is what I am wondering .... the property I am in the process of buying has a small - ish back garden, which backs into the woods. All the nearby properties are in line in terms of back gardens, all except one which has extended about 6 meters in length. I don't know if they've done it correctly by buying it off the council or not.  I might have a chat with them, once I've lived there a few months. 

I would like to do something similar and get a small plot of land of maybe 6 meters over 8 which would give roughly 50 sq meters to be added to the back garden.
What I was thinking is to talk to my solicitors and see how we could approach this, although I am not sure what to offer for that kind of land. Maybe 5k plus the council's solicitors fees and see what they say.

Any advice, things to consider, what to do or not to do? Are they likely to accept or are there things I could mention / do to improve the chance of getting this accepted ?
The land belongs to the Dorset council, if that makes any difference.

davidmcn

Easiest just to ask the neighbours as a first step.

eidand

davidmcn said:

Easiest just to ask the neighbours as a first step.

yeah, it's on my list, however if they've done it the other way they may not be so happy with me going over and questioning this. Maybe not the best start with new neighbours

greatcrested

Go and introduce yourself and let it come up in conversation.

davidmcn

(don't offer cake to any council officers though)

princeofpounds

My bet is that they don't have permission. And that the council won't sell any land to you. 

But I could be wrong. So discussing it with those neighbours may be a good first step. Just be aware that if they are adversely possessing the ground, they may not be that comfortable when the topic come up, so you'll have to convince them you tacitly approve.

People nicking bits of ground off councils is quite frequent, as they often own the odd-ends of land here and there at the back of people's gardens. Often councils, rather than pursuing eviction, will instead sell a license to use the land i.e. assert their ownership rights in the lowest cost way possible, and put off an eviction to the next generation. But that may be less likely if it's recreational woodland than, say, an overgrown strip between fences.

eidand

princeofpounds said:

My bet is that they don't have permission. And that the council won't sell any land to you. 

But I could be wrong. So discussing it with those neighbours may be a good first step. Just be aware that if they are adversely possessing the ground, they may not be that comfortable when the topic come up, so you'll have to convince them you tacitly approve.

People nicking bits of ground off councils is quite frequent, as they often own the odd-ends of land here and there at the back of people's gardens. Often councils, rather than pursuing eviction, will instead sell a license to use the land i.e. assert their ownership rights in the lowest cost way possible, and put off an eviction to the next generation. But that may be less likely if it's recreational woodland than, say, an overgrown strip between fences.

That's exactly my feeling too which is why I am a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. This bit of land is pretty overgrown and not really used for anything, the entire row of houses could extend their garden and it wouldn't affect anything. I am just the type that would rather buy it than just nick it.

martindow

davidmcn said:

(don't offer cake to any council officers though)

Don't they like cake?

davidmcn

princeofpounds said:

My bet is that they don't have permission. And that the council won't sell any land to you. 

Pretty easy to check by looking at the Land Registry whether the neighbours actually have title or not.

thearchitect

The enclosure of open space (whether tended or not) as a garden is a change of use and requires planning permission.  In addition the erection of fencing may, depending upon location and height, also require consent.   There was a recent Daily Fail story where someone in (I think) Livingston had lost an appeal on this point and received an enforcement notice.  Caution is therefore required.

Davesnave

eidand said:

princeofpounds said:

My bet is that they don't have permission. And that the council won't sell any land to you. 

But I could be wrong. So discussing it with those neighbours may be a good first step. Just be aware that if they are adversely possessing the ground, they may not be that comfortable when the topic come up, so you'll have to convince them you tacitly approve.

People nicking bits of ground off councils is quite frequent, as they often own the odd-ends of land here and there at the back of people's gardens. Often councils, rather than pursuing eviction, will instead sell a license to use the land i.e. assert their ownership rights in the lowest cost way possible, and put off an eviction to the next generation. But that may be less likely if it's recreational woodland than, say, an overgrown strip between fences.

That's exactly my feeling too which is why I am a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. This bit of land is pretty overgrown and not really used for anything, the entire row of houses could extend their garden and it wouldn't affect anything. I am just the type that would rather buy it than just nick it.

You can be sure the land is used for something; perhaps not by people, but it will certainly be a habitat for other living things. So, if every house extended its garden, it would affect something, just not a 'something' you place any value on.

There is also an argument saying that gardens can actually increase habitat diversity, which would be the case if everyone gardened in a wildlife-friendly way. Sadly, any hour looking at Rightmove convinces me that not even 50% really do.

'Recreational woodland,' if that's what it is, also doesn't mean that people must have access to all of it. Take any area of woods, like the Forest of Dean or the edges of Dartmoor, and although large swathes have public open access, there are areas not easily accessible which are vital retreats and breeding areas.