Tiny bit of council owned land at front of my house

chapea

could it also be a ransom strip possibly for utilities

No1_Anorak

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881322#Comment_81881322

As we cannot see the image, you don't mention if your exisiting front garden is currently all tarmac/concrete or is a mix with some grass/plants? The reason I ask is that a number of councils now take a dim view of front gardens being converted to completely tarmac/concrete as that increases rain water run off into the street causing drainage/flooding issues in the road way. Also has been stated even if you have a existing dropped kerb for your current driveway for the one car you currently park on your driveway, if you are going to use the entire front garden for multiple cars, you need to get council persmission and pay for an extended dropped kerb so you can drive in/out with either vehicle without going over a normal [not dropped[ kerb that can result in damage to both the kerb and your vehicle. Dropped kerbs and access to properties are normally handled by the County Council [at least they are in the county where I live] rather than your local Borough Council

KaratePigeon

Thanks for the replies. Dropped kerb isn't a problem, the one we have is wide enough, just need the bushes gone so there's enough room to swing around to get to it. Yeah I did wonder if it was owned by the developer or someone other than the council, is there a way to check? My neighbour has the same on their deeds, the front just shows a weird shape as the small area isn't included in the boundary.

KaratePigeon

The rest of the drive is block paving, I'd keep as much of the green area as possible as I like shrubs etc, but want to reduce it enough to just be able to swing the car over it. My drawing isn't to scale but the cars could still be perpendicular if there was a wider bit at the front to get out of.

Section62

I think adverse possession would probably apply as I doubt the council even know it isn't owned by the home owners by now. But is that a lot of hassle/expense? Just wondering whether it's better to ask and get it agreed properly but risk them saying no, or just doing it (99% sure they won't notice/care).

If the land is owned by the council and is highway then you won't be able to get adverse possession of it.

If it isn't highway then it might be amenity land, in which case you'd likely need planning consent to incorporate it into your property/driveway. If it is next to the highway then adverse possession is likely to be tricky if the land isn't fenced off.

Councils rarely forget they own land. They keep their own land records (called a 'land terrier') in which all these small parcels of land will be recorded, even if not (yet) in the Land Registry data.

In general councils don't like it when people try to take land which belongs to the public. Councils have a legal duty to protect public assets so can't just ignore it. The councils I've worked for would make it harder for someone to legally acquire land they have already tried to take, and be more receptive to people who ask first. Although it may be tempting to just use the land, you may store up a problem for when you come to sell your property in the future.