Costs involved in owning a plot of land with trees

daveyjp

As its for sale by auction and its a low guide price it means its valued at amenity value, but they have no idea what it is actually worth as there may be locals who really want it,

It only needs 2-3 who need to own it and the price can go crazy,  I've seen similarly priced land sell for 6 figures!

user1977

RHemmings said:

Thanks @Flugelhorn. How did you find out who it was owned by?

From looking at the planning history.

It's got a TPO so there's little chance of anybody else getting consent to develop it (plus you'd have the hassle of having to get consent whenever the trees need work done on them). I would maybe save your money for a different purpose.

RHemmings

user1977 said:

From looking at the planning history.

It's got a TPO so there's little chance of anybody else getting consent to develop it (plus you'd have the hassle of having to get consent whenever the trees need work done on them). I would maybe save your money for a different purpose.

Thanks. 

Yes, I was thinking that this may be beyond me in several different ways, but I thought I'd put it out to the hive mind.

Over and above any legal responsibilities, there's also a moral responsibility to not cause danger to people near to, or even trespassing in, the land.

I'm guessing that there's nobody that would want the land if I bought it and donated it. The University of Leicester Botanical Gardens is not too far away but it's not adjacent or anything like that. And, I guess if the council wanted it, they would have it. I'm guessing that the Oadby Civic Society wouldn't want the responsibilities either. 

I'm still going to have a look as this is my first weekend in a while where I'm not still looking for a house to buy. Bit of a loose end. 

PS: If anyone is eagle-eyed and has noticed that I have a thread about a fireplace in the Energy sub-forum, these two threads are not related in any way

Flugelhorn

as others mentioned can find who applied for TPO consent from the planning history. TBH I would be worried about fly-tipping there too - have a look at other places instead, 

Keep_pedalling

To maximise the benefit for wildlife the land would need considerable management. If you are involved with any local wildlife groups them it might be possible to do most of the work with volunteer work parties. 

RHemmings

Thanks all. I think this is way beyond me in even more ways than I thought. It would only be if I could buy and donate that it would work. But, I suspect that there will be nobody to donate to. 

I am in general a bit concerned about claims that planning consent might be 'bulldozed' in the future.

GDB2222

Flugelhorn said:

PS this is your bit of land I think - worth a bit of research seeing who owns it and what the history is , maybe council selling as fed up with having to look after it  https://pa.oadby-wigston.gov.uk/online-applications/caseDetails.do?caseType=Application&keyVal=LLUW87MB04Y00

in 2015 it was owned by Taylor Wimpey

If the trees are still subject to a TPO, as seems likely, there’s no real way to develop that land. 

Section62

RHemmings said:

Flugelhorn said:

A lot would depend on the size, type and age of trees and how you want to keep the land looking. Tree surgery can be expensive!

Is there any public access to the land ?

It's this: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139620689#/?channel=COM_BUY

"For Sale by Public Auction on 26/10/2023"

Unless you have the cash to buy the land in 12 days time then forget about it.  Save yourself (and us) the effort of researching the headaches that the new owner will almost certainly inherit.

eddddy

Just as background info...

• The land is owned by Bryant Homes (part of Taylor Wimpey) - I guess they built the housing estate in around 1990, and this is a bit of leftover land that they want to offload.

• It has a TPO and there have been applications for tree work roughly every 5 years - presumably as the trees become overgrown.

• There seem to be commercial units very close to the trees - so I guess there could be a risk of some trees causing subsidence, and needing to be pruned or cut down

• I guess there's a risk of things like people fly-tipping on the land (or just littering) - which the owner would need to deal with

• I guess there's also a risk of the land being used for anti-social behaviour (e.g. drug dealing/using) - and residents putting pressure on the owner to take action (e.g. fencing it off)

I suspect the other bidders might be local residents who want to add a bit of woodland to their garden - or just want to prevent it falling into the hands of others with unknown plans. Or there might be scope to create 1 or 2 or 3 parking spaces, without impacting the trees.

Robin9

It's up for auction in less than a fortnight