Buying Land off Utility Company

Iamdave

Has anyone ever had experience of trying to buy land off a utility company or larger agency? 

There is some land near us that is owned by a utility company. Many years ago it used to house a couple of Large Gas bullets but they've long been disposed of and the land has sat empty ever since. 

How do you approach a company with an enquiry to see if they'd be interested in selling the land? It obviously hasn't been used for 20 years 

Brie

No experience but is it safe to build on? Otherwise I'm sure they would love to get rid of it.  Well probably love to get rid of it no matter what but why would anyone buy it if it's not safe.  There was a brown site near us that took maybe a decade to sell due to concerns of what might lurk beneath the topsoil.

user1977

You contact their estates department and ask the question. Though if they wanted to sell, they'd probably decide to do it themselves rather than wait for somebody to ask.

Iamdave

Not initially looking to build on it. Would like to use it for storage. 

If planning could be achieved in the long term then great but not an immediate priority

Section62

Iamdave said:

There is some land near us that is owned by a utility company. Many years ago it used to house a couple of Large Gas bullets but they've long been disposed of and the land has sat empty ever since. 

Can you clarify what was on the site before?

Are you sure the site is empty?  I.e. they may have removed equipment on the surface, but there may still be plant buried in the ground.  E.g. sites with redundant gas holders can be tricky to redevelop as there are often gas pipes (sometimes high pressure ones) remaining within the site.

Iamdave

From the best of my memory there was 2 large Gas bullets there. So there may well still be pipes underground. 

I'm not sure on the legislation but I'm pretty sure they either have to be filled with an inert gas or disinvested if no longer in use.

Tiglet2

I bought some land from our waste water supplier.  The land included a waste pipe which was still in use.  There were stipulations in the transfer that we were not to disturb the pipe, lying around 12 feet down, or by building anything above it, other than temporary buildings that could be moved if access was necessary.  They also stipulated that if access were necessary, I could not withhold permission for them to enter the land.