Odd boundary help linden homes

Far1974

hi all

stupidly when we bought our property we didn’t realize the a portion of the front garden was to be owned by linden homes. I have attached a photo of our drive and the bit of the grass to the right is still owned by linden (about half of it, I have drawn the boundary) the red bit is owned by linden 

We want to buy that part of the land as it’s ridiculous that they own half of it. We all pay a maintenance charge per year to cut the communal grass areas abs this is never cut as everyone assumes it’s ours

Linden homes will not reply to any communication apart from one email I got from admin saying “linden won’t sell it”

is there anything we can claim on this land as it’s a stupid boundary and means it isn’t really our front lawn 

Looking for your wise advise on thank you 

Slithery

If they don't want to sell it then you can't buy it. There is no other option.

Can you not just carry on using it anyway?

Titus_Wadd

Put a fence around it for 20 years?  Sorry not much help am I?  Although...

The locals here tried to re-wild the grass verges under a scheme between the county and local councils.  It might work for you.  Replace the grass with wild flower meadow plants and get the local authority to agree not to mow them.  Once you have the council's agreement they'll be sure to mow it at the earliest opportunity after replanting!  This might apply even when they're not the council's responsibility to mow.  Do it anyway.  At least you'll be encouraging bees etc. and you can stop mowing.

74jax

What would you use it for?

I'd just let it grow, then when the rest is cut, send a photo and ask when they are back or to cut this section.

I'm surprised your solicitor didn't mention it though as it would be an odd shape. 

daveyjp

It hasn't been sold for a reason.  Whats behind that fence?  What they still own is probably wide enough for an access road in years to come to serve a new development.

For developers they don't mind if that's in 5 years or 50 years as the ransom strip will always be valuable.

Agree with others to stop cutting grass you are paying to be cut for you.

comeandgo

I’m in agreement with davey, this is standard when there is a possibility of more houses and access would be needed.

Far1974

Thanks all x there is about 1 foot and then a tree with tpo and then another row of houses directly behind so no room tor any path or road or anything so pretty useless to them x

just feels like it should be part of our home, letting the grass grow previously and neighbours have complained 🤣🤣🤣

Jeepers_Creepers

Who owns and mows the lawn either side of that slabbed footpath? And who mows the rest of the grass on that 'red' patch?

If both are yours, and both are mowed by you, then I think I'd personally plant a tree that matches the one to the left of your drive entrance, and then mow it all.

I wouldn't have any expectation of ever owning it, but I'd treat it as 'mine' simply for the purposes of making it look as good as possible, and matching trees either side of the entrance could look pretty nifty. If a neighb asks, just tell the truth.

barbiedoll

I can see why you're annoyed, what a stupid arrangement. Maybe try putting a very low fence right across your boundary, leave the grass to grow, and put up a home-made sign saying "This area is the exclusive property of Linden Homes", along with a their phone number and email address. When enough neighbours complain about the local eyesore, perhaps Linden will reconsider your offer to purchase it?  

Section62

Far1974 said:

Thanks all x there is about 1 foot and then a tree with tpo and then another row of houses directly behind so no room tor any path or road or anything so pretty useless to them x

If the land retained isn't for access, and isn't just a silly error when they drew up the transfer plans, then the next likely reason they retained land was for some kind of utility purposes - e.g. a manhole or soakaway, or perhaps a location to site something like an electricity substation.

Have you checked the planning application drawings to see if anything was supposed to be going there?

There is likely to be some kind of reason, and they won't be interested in selling until that reason no longer exists.

barbiedoll said:

I can see why you're annoyed, what a stupid arrangement. Maybe try putting a very low fence right across your boundary....

Far1974 would need to check for covenants or planning conditions before putting up a fence - the things you can do to front gardens on new developments are often restricted.

In any event, I wouldn't put up a fence.  As it is, Far1974 can just overrun the lawnmower onto the Linden homes land.  With a fence on the boundary cutting his/her grass will be harder because the fence is in the way, plus the area next to the fence will need strimming or edging.  The existing arrangement is about as low maintenance as you can get.

lookstraightahead

Looks like a ransom strip to me - not sure why there though.