Builder able to cross my land?

Bookworm105

RHemmings said:

The OP's bargaining position will depend entirely on whether the new property(ies) already have a right/easement to use the road, or not. I don't see that there is anything in this thread that confirms or disconfirms that. It seems likely that the developer will have taken legal advice, and this may have influenced their decision to change the plans to use the road owned by the OP. 

exactly, I cannot believe that a developer would have gone to the expense of a planning application for an inaccessible bit of land 

Section62

Bookworm105 said:

RHemmings said:

The OP's bargaining position will depend entirely on whether the new property(ies) already have a right/easement to use the road, or not. I don't see that there is anything in this thread that confirms or disconfirms that. It seems likely that the developer will have taken legal advice, and this may have influenced their decision to change the plans to use the road owned by the OP. 

exactly, I cannot believe that a developer would have gone to the expense of a planning application for an inaccessible bit of land 

Or (and as a counterpoint to the suggestions the OP is sitting on a goldmine ransom strip) the council may have indicated to the developer they would be willing to use their statutory powers to either CPO the land, or adopt the 'road' as highway, if commercial negotiations didn't come to anything.

The lack of detail about this road and what rights anyone might have over it means it is impossible to confidently predict what the outcome might be.

davemorton

Original plans had entry via a gate which is shown in blue, they have changed it to the red route that passes 3 houses on a private road. 

user1977

Your OP didn't mention the other three houses which already use "your" road! Why don't you think the undeveloped plot would have similar rights to the existing houses?

davemorton

They each own part of the road (in front of their house, and have uninterrupted access for 30 years. The section they are planning on using to access the new site is a hammerhead that was originally put there for emergency vehicles to turn round I am led to believe.

RHemmings

This is an even more complicated situation. Depending on which house is yours, you may also be passing over parts of the road owned by other people. Right of way has probably been established through prescription for the existing houses. 

What do the other homeowners (and co-road owners) say about the development? 

Have you contacted the developers and asked them on what basis they are expecting to use the road?

Personally I think this is way, way, too complex for a forum thread. There need to be proper professionals involved in real life. 

Bookworm105

Is there is an existing gate to the field at that hammerhead ? 
there may therefore be a history of use of the road from the field. That has legal implications if you try to now oppose such travel.

this thread is starting to go round in circles. Either the 4 properties (+ field) on that road have the right to control who can use the road, or they don't. Being responsible for its repair because it is unadopted is not the same as controlling right of access along it.

Get proper legal advice based on what each of the 4 deeds say. It appears it is already very late in the day given original PP was granted and a variation to the PP is now out of time for objections, so this will go ahead 

user1977

davemorton said:

They each own part of the road (in front of their house, and have uninterrupted access for 30 years. The section they are planning on using to access the new site is a hammerhead that was originally put there for emergency vehicles to turn round I am led to believe.

But presumably all the existing houses have explicit rights in their titles to use the road? Seems conceivable that the other plot does too.

davemorton

Bookworm105 said:

Is there is an existing gate to the field at that hammerhead ? 

this thread is starting to go round in circles. Either the 4 properties on that road have the right to control who can use the road, or they don't. Being responsible for its repair because it is unadopted is not the same as controlling right of access along it.

Get proper legal advice based on what each of the 4 deeds say. It appears it is already very late in the day given original PP was granted and a variation to the PP is now out of time for objections so this will go ahead 

PP has not been granted yet. All home owners are against it. The existing gate into the field was what I marked in blue. 

Section62

davemorton said:

They each own part of the road (in front of their house, and have uninterrupted access for 30 years. The section they are planning on using to access the new site is a hammerhead that was originally put there for emergency vehicles to turn round I am led to believe.

Some form of turning area - for example a hammerhead - is standard practice, it is there for all and any vehicles to use, not just emergency ones.

If the two plots of land were once owned by the same person/entity then I'd be amazed if they haven't preserved a right to access the land via the hammerhead (in addition to the field gate).

Using the hammerhead as a means of access to the field won't detract from its use as a turnng area - in fact it improves the situation as people are less likely to park in the hammerhead if it is being used as an access.

If this is some kind of made-up road (rather than a 'track' it initially sounded like) then it might make it more likely the council would consider adoption as a way of allowing the development to go ahead.