Planning permission involving a private road

bouicca21

What exactly is the status of the road?  Private road can mean many things. The term is constantly bandied about in my area but the roads concerned are merely unadopted.  That’s very different to the road near a friend’s house, which cannot be used by nonresidents (enforced by an electronic gate).  

MyNameIsRene

FlorayG said:

Do you own the road and have all responsibility for its safety and upkeep? If so then surely that's the same as requiring access across your garden - it's private land and they need your permission. Some private roads are nevertheless maintained by the Highways department, in which case it's not so clear

I own the private road with other neighbours. It is looked after by us and not adopted by the council

MyNameIsRene

We do not want Cars from 100 homes driving by our house and opening up a private road to the general public. The road leads into a private road which becomes a cul de sac. The land between the roads and the private road are owned by the private residents not the developer. The developer is different to the one that built the original houses. The developer wants to open up / join up the road to provide better access to their site. If we want object then we expect the developer would have to provide alternative plans or buy the land and have the private road adopted by the council?

DrSpendingLittle

First things first, the developer does not need your permission as owner of the road to apply for planning permission on your road - they can apply for planning permission at the same time as exploring land assembly options. 

If planning permission were granted, the developer would then need to overcome any land assembly issues that prevent them from implementing that permission, such as road access / ownership rights, ransom strips etc.

Without sight of the deeds to the road, it's difficult to determine what the precise legal position is regarding access rights etc. It could be that the landowners of the site intended for development have access rights over the road.

So, there are two elements to your situation: 1) object through the planning application process to prevent the development from gaining planning permission. 2) seek to prevent the sale of the road / access rights to the road to the developer if permission was granted. Expect cash offers to come in from the developer if they have no legal basis on which to use the road but intend to.

The developer may redesign the site to get access elsewhere to prevent your road becoming a ransom strip. 

MyNameIsRene

bouicca21 said:

What exactly is the status of the road?  Private road can mean many things. The term is constantly bandied about in my area but the roads concerned are merely unadopted.  That’s very different to the road near a friend’s house, which cannot be used by nonresidents (enforced by an electronic gate).  

The road is privately owned and maintained by several addresses on the road. 

ciderboy2009

Does the land currently have a right of way along your road for access purposes?

MyNameIsRene

DrSpendingLittle said:

First things first, the developer does not need your permission as owner of the road to apply for planning permission on your road - they can apply for planning permission at the same time as exploring land assembly options. 

If planning permission were granted, the developer would then need to overcome any land assembly issues that prevent them from implementing that permission, such as road access / ownership rights, ransom strips etc.

Without sight of the deeds to the road, it's difficult to determine what the precise legal position is regarding access rights etc. It could be that the landowners of the site intended for development have access rights over the road.

So, there are two elements to your situation: 1) object through the planning application process to prevent the development from gaining planning permission. 2) seek to prevent the sale of the road / access rights to the road to the developer if permission was granted. Expect cash offers to come in from the developer if they have no legal basis on which to use the road but intend to.

The developer may redesign the site to get access elsewhere to prevent your road becoming a ransom strip. 

Yes I think we will act on both elements to object to the overall planning application and prevent the sale of the land or access rights. Thanks for the advice and comments 

Bookworm105

MyNameIsRene said:

bouicca21 said:

What exactly is the status of the road?  Private road can mean many things. The term is constantly bandied about in my area but the roads concerned are merely unadopted.  That’s very different to the road near a friend’s house, which cannot be used by nonresidents (enforced by an electronic gate).  

The road is privately owned and maintained by several addresses on the road. 

with respect that does not answer the question - 

1. object to planning permission on whatever grounds you can make hay from- look at the council's local plan for what it defines as acceptable development on that area of land.

2. establish what the deeds of the private road state are the rights of access along it by non owners of it

you may not win the planning objection but you may be able to hold the developer to (financial) ransom if the only way to access their site is via your road.
Or the developer may win planning permission and by pass you by redesigning their site so access is over land you have no control over.

RHemmings

Bookworm105 said:

MyNameIsRene said:

bouicca21 said:

What exactly is the status of the road?  Private road can mean many things. The term is constantly bandied about in my area but the roads concerned are merely unadopted.  That’s very different to the road near a friend’s house, which cannot be used by nonresidents (enforced by an electronic gate).  

The road is privately owned and maintained by several addresses on the road. 

with respect that does not answer the question - 

1. object to planning permission on whatever grounds you can make hay from- look at the council's local plan for what it defines as acceptable development on that area of land.

2. establish what the deeds of the private road state are the rights of access along it by non owners of it

you may not win the planning objection but you may be able to hold the developer to (financial) ransom if the only way to access their site is via your road.
Or the developer may win planning permission and by pass you by redesigning their site so access is over land you have no control over.

Quoted for truth. It's going to be crucial to know if there are rights of way to the road. And if so, what they are and who they are granted to. 

MeteredOut

As noted above, planning permission can be granted even if the requestor does not have the legal agreements in place that would allow them to move ahead with the build (in the same way that planning permission can be granted for a house that would not pass building regulations).

As an example, planning permission was granted for 200+ houses a few miles from us, but the drainage to the SUDS on the plans was through land owned by a local farmer with whom they had not reached agreement. They are still in negotiation, and the planning was approved nearly 2 years ago.

I suspect the OP may not be able to block the PP on the basis of the road, but that will depend on the council. They are more likely to "Approve with conditions", with the condition being that works cannot commence until all necessary agreements are in place.