House Purchase Retaining Wall supporting a highway.

sseshield

I'm currently going through conveyancing of the purchase of a house and i'm wondering if anyone can shed any light on likely responsibility of a garden retaining wall. I'm sure the deeds etc will identify responsibility however i'm curious if there are certain highway laws that puts some of the responsibility on the highways/council.

There is a stone retaining wall approx 120 years old, 30 meters in length that starts at around 5ft in height and gradually rises to 15ft at its highest point. There is a single lane public road that is directly behind the wall that runs the length of the wall with the retaining wall supporting the road. The road sits approximately 50% of the height of wall all the way up.

My questions is, are there any laws (Property is in Wales) that would make the council/highways responsible for the wall below the road level and the property owner would be responsible for anything above? It made me think if the wall was to fail, especially below the road level due to landslip or storm, flood etc then it would make the road unusable and a hefty bill to repair the wall. And regarding insurance, should the main building not be damaged then i'm sure the wall wouldn't be covered in it's own right.

RelievedSheff

Where a retaining wall is supporting the highway it is usually the responsibility of the local highways authority to maintain the retaining wall.

If it were the other way around and the property was higher than the highway then it is usually the property owners responsibility to maintain the retaining wall.

There are always exceptions to the rules though and it would be wise to confirm the ownership of the wall prior to completing the purchase.

sseshield

Thank you. 50% of the wall is higher than the highway and the remainder below so should say for example, the top half of the wall became damaged or worst case fell then i could understand the onus is on the property owner to repair whereas the 50% of the wall that then sits below the road level but is only accessible via the garden of the property and therefore supports the weight of the highway behind it, should be maintained by the local highways. I'm hoping it's either all of it is maintained by the local highway authority or anything below road level.
I've already raised this concern with my conveyancer to find out ownership and responsibilities regarding it.

greatcrested

Additionally, if you establish that the wall is in the ownership of the property owner, then your buildings insurance would probably cover it, though as always, read the policy carefully to see what it includes/excludes.

RelievedSheff

sseshield said:

Thank you. 50% of the wall is higher than the highway and the remainder below so should say for example, the top half of the wall became damaged or worst case fell then i could understand the onus is on the property owner to repair whereas the 50% of the wall that then sits below the road level but is only accessible via the garden of the property and therefore supports the weight of the highway behind it, should be maintained by the local highways. I'm hoping it's either all of it is maintained by the local highway authority or anything below road level.
I've already raised this concern with my conveyancer to find out ownership and responsibilities regarding it.

It would all be owned by the local authority. It wouldn't be part owned.

FreeBear

You must get ownership of the wall confirmed in writing - Hopefully your solicitor will be on the ball with that.

In the meantime, a cautionary tail - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-44259208

eddddy

It probably depends on who built the retaining wall in the first place (and whose land it is on).

For example, if there was a highway on council land, and the owner of your house wanted to level their land - so they built a retaining wall.  The owner of the house/land has an ongoing responsibility to support the council's land where appropriate, and/or to prevent their soil falling (trespassing) onto the council land where appropriate.  i.e. The house owner has to maintain the retaining wall.

But conversely, if it was the council who built an embankment and/or dug a cutting supported by the retaining wall - they have a duty to stop the embankment tumbling onto your land, and to support your land to stop it slipping into the cutting. i.e. The council has to maintain the retaining wall.

It's probably worth asking the council who they believe owns the retaining wall.

sseshield

Here's the wall in question. the road at it highest point is just above the 1st storey of the house. If the land should fall then it would be falling onto the owners land.

sseshield

Looking at an old victorian map of the area, the property and road behind it was there in the 1880's however the wall may have been added later on.

xylophone

a cautionary tail 

I'd heard of finger wagging..........