Fly tipping on land that is not owned by anyone

rel77

Hi I have a area of land that's behind my house and other houses that is being fly tipped. I asked the land registry and they confirmed it is not owned and has never been registered by anyone. They suggested contacting the council. I will do but wanted to do some research before I did that.

They are dumping it up against my fence making it distort it and probably in the end damage it. Do I have the right to move it off it a bit so the fence does not get damaged it would still be on the same land.

I am happy to collect it and put it on the curb for the council to collect every now and again if they will take it.

Any advice or a actual fly tipping forum where I can get some advice?

MaryNB

I'd recommend getting a CCTV camera at the back so you can report the people flytipping, if you can fix it to your house and see over the fence in question. You can get ones that arent too pricy. I didn't have my doorbell cam set correctly so it missed someone flytipping next to my front door but if it happens again hopefully I'll be able to catch them.

My local council don't remove waste from private land but they still ask for details such as descriptions of those involved and vehicle reg.

Brie

Someone dumped some bags of trash across the road from us and a quick glance meant we could see there was correspondence in it - which meant the stupid dumpers got a visit from the police.

Jeepers_Creepers

rel77 said:

Hi I have a area of land that's behind my house and other houses that is being fly tipped. I asked the land registry and they confirmed it is not owned and has never been registered by anyone. They suggested contacting the council. I will do but wanted to do some research before I did that.

They are dumping it up against my fence making it distort it and probably in the end damage it. Do I have the right to move it off it a bit so the fence does not get damaged it would still be on the same land.

I am happy to collect it and put it on the curb for the council to collect every now and again if they will take it.

Any advice or a actual fly tipping forum where I can get some advice?

Not owned and not registered...

In which case the best way to protect your fence is to erect an additional fence one metre, or two, perhaps three, ok 4 metres further out from yours. With a wee gate from your old fence to your new one.

ic

Not being registered doesn't mean its not owned - it just hasn't legally changed hands since the land registry was formed in the 70s.  Most likely someone has the deeds to the land in a drawer - its a problem for the council to find them if the use of that land is posing a problem.

https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2018/02/05/search-owner-unregistered-land/

FaceHead

ic said:

Not being registered doesn't mean its not owned

True. But I agree with Jeepers that if my house backed onto some land of ambiguous ownership, I'd be planting my flag in it and seeing what happened next. 

On CCTV you can pick up a Nooie Outdoor Camera on Amazon for £32. You'll also need a 32 or 64GB microSD card for another £6 to save the footage. I have one - it's not amazing but brilliant value. Does it's job as a deterrent, and has potential to capture something like a fly tipping number plate. 

Rosesgirl

I would speak to street cleaning at your local council most have a way you can report fly tipping . From experience this can turn into a serious problem I Iive in a mid terrace and I'm 2 doors away from an area of waste ground that is owned by someone it had previous planning permission to build a house on the land but nothing materialized hence a dumping ground .
What happened the owner got guys with a van come to clear the ground but they decided to have a bonfire twice which both times the fire brigade had to come out the thick white smoke was on the main road and the bonfire they lit the 2nd time was recklessly close to the gable wall of our row of houses and it was terrifying in all honesty . 

I hope you can get this resolved .

Norman_Castle

I wouldn't think twice about moving it from the fence. Is it close to a road, if not I'd be suspecting the neighbours. How big is the area and can access to it be blocked?

Rosa_Damascena

I too am thrilled about the prospect of a land grab . Watching this thread closely and carefully.

I really should get out more 

Jeepers_Creepers

I was jesting. In earnest...

But definitely remove the items from your fence, and report the F-T to the council. I would personally also set up a covert camera, but that's your call. 

Section62

rel77 said:

They are dumping it up against my fence making it distort it and probably in the end damage it. Do I have the right to move it off it a bit so the fence does not get damaged it would still be on the same land.

Strictly speaking, No.

But if the owner isn't aware they own this land, or no longer around to care, then they not likely to take action against you.


What you should be very careful about is that you don't place yourself in a position where you could be accused of flytipping.  Moving/handling waste on land you don't own, and depositing it there, is not the same thing as doing it on your own land. If someone reports you, or a council investigator arrives while you are handling the waste, then you could find yourself needing to prove you didn't put it there. (so take plenty of photos before you touch anything)

In case anyone thinks this is far-fetched, people dumping waste over the fence at the end of their garden is very common, especially when that land appears abandoned.

Obviously you need to take great care with health and safety when handling waste from an unknown source - it could contain any number of hazardous materials.  You would also be held responsible if your handling of the waste causes or spreads contamination.


Also, if you do go ahead with the suggested land grab, start with a low-cost fence rather than anything expensive.  If there is one sure way of getting the owner of land to come out of the woodwork and 'reclaim' their property then it is someone else putting a fence up on it.  And you could find the owner is the council itself, even though they currently have little interest in maintaining and protecting it.