land ownership

[richard1976]

hi i dont know if anyone can help me but does anyone know how much land does the council own from the side of the road inwards towards the front of your property, providing you have bought your house. please help if you can thanks

[Dadie]

It should be on your deeds.
Especially if there is shared access, walkways between houses etc.
There are still stipulations on some areas such as it has to be open plan etc....
Get a copy of your deeds and go through it (with a solicitor if need be).
I imagine it would be different for every house....and its location and when it was first purchased from the council.

[Droopy]

It should be on your deeds.
Especially if there is shared access, walkways between houses etc.
There are still stipulations on some areas such as it has to be open plan etc....
Get a copy of your deeds and go through it (with a solicitor if need be).
I imagine it would be different for every house....and its location and when it was first purchased from the council.


So in other words you havent a clue, and Richard is no further on....

[bekisman]

So in other words you havent a clue, and Richard is no further on....
Come on then Droopy; font of all knowledge, tell us then..

[Dadie]

Without knowing where the house is....there is not much info you can give!
Look up the land registry...dig out a copy of your deeds...
Sometimes there is funny bits like wee lawns outside the property walls that is technically yours but have public footpaths through them.

[_Ju_]

Let me see: Dadie actually gave useful information. You gave what, Droopy?

[richard1976]

from richard. my property is south keiss on the a99 towards john o groats, property is private non council, and a cycle path is being put across the front of my property and driveway. there is broken lines in front of our entrance, the council has used 10 foot of land from edge of road to my property. is this any more help.

[Dadie]

Is thje driveway yours or shared?
Do you own the driveway/ land its on, or are you just entitled to the access?
All these things make a big difference.
If its your land you could do something about it, but if you are just entitled to access, not much you can do really!

[Gronnuck]

from richard. my property is south keiss on the a99 towards john o groats, property is private non council, and a cycle path is being put across the front of my property and driveway. there is broken lines in front of our entrance, the council has used 10 foot of land from edge of road to my property. is this any more help.

Even if you owned the land to the centre of the road (quite common in an urban environment; not necessarily in a rural environment) the road and any pavement will deem to have been 'adopted' in that the local authority maintains the road and the pavement. If instead of a pavement or walkway any grass strip or ditch could also be 'adopted' in that it is maintained by an authority other than the land owner. Altho' land in these circumstances may be 'adopted' it is normal for land owners to have unhindered access to their property.
To be sure of your own position it is best to read through the Land Registry documents for your property and if in any doubt visit the local Planning Office to discuss any issues.

[richard1976]

hi me again, my gate is 10ft in from the side of the road, the cycle path is from the road to my gate level, the access has been there over 50 years and as i said there are broken lines to show its an access. but what concerns me is i now have to drive across a cycle path to get in and out of my gate, so what if there was an accident would i be liable. it seems absoloutly ridiculous to put the cycle path right up to my gate.

[Beat Bug]

Sometimes, even if you own some land outside your defined boundary, you don't really have much say in what the council do with it. Our house in England was on a corner, with grass verges, which were ours, on 2 sides. When the council were doing road works, they piled all their materials on one side, and closed the road. We immediately removed the barrier, as we always parked on the grass verge. Council workers approached us saying we couldn't do that. We explained that the verge was ours: they then checked with the council, then apologised to us, and from then on asked permission any time they needed to use the verge.
I would suggest having a look at the deeds, which should define your exact boundary, and if the cycle path looks like it's going to actually cross over your land, then have a friendly word with the council to clarify the situation.

[Duncansby]

but what concerns me is i now have to drive across a cycle path to get in and out of my gate, so what if there was an accident would i be liable. it seems absoloutly ridiculous to put the cycle path right up to my gate.

So if there was no cycle path, cyclists and pedestrians would be walking at the side of the road and as you would be crossing that when you turn into your drive wouldn't you be just as likely to hit them too?! How fast do you enter and exit your property that you are worried about accident liability?

[annemarie482]

ok just to put another view on it.
i know you, your house and the cycle path.
i also know the gate is not 10ft from the road as when you used to park your car side on to your gate (on the now cycle path) it had the gate tight on one side and the road tight on the other.
also you fail to mention you have another entrance to your property (which was the original main entrance), just yards up the side road along side your property.
it would seem you have a grievance with the council itself (or the fact you can no longer park outside your fence) as you could easily still drive through your gate over the cycle route, as there is no perminant fixture otherwise stopping you.
the only difference is that you could no longer park there as you would block the route.
why not phone the council and ask?
i know in the village itself, most houses property ends at their wall/fence and the owner has no say on the pavement outside it.
this may be the same case with your croft. as said above, check the deeds of your ground.
as a "keisser" myself i along with many others are delighted this path is being put in for the safety of children walking to and from school and their homes.
especially the stretch outside your home as it as on a fast stretch of road on a blind bend.
i dont want to argue but see it only fair that all details are known as without them all you won't get the answer your looking for.

[theone]

hi me again, my gate is 10ft in from the side of the road, the cycle path is from the road to my gate level, the access has been there over 50 years and as i said there are broken lines to show its an access. but what concerns me is i now have to drive across a cycle path to get in and out of my gate, so what if there was an accident would i be liable. it seems absoloutly ridiculous to put the cycle path right up to my gate.

The only other option would be to move the whole road so that the cycle path stays 10ft from your property, I can't see that happening!

As for an accident and being liable, I can't see why it would be any different to knocking over a cyclist anywhere else. You're responsible for your own driving whether on the road, on private property or in a car park.

I'd take the advice of the other posters and have your deeds checked, or even consult a solicitor if you really want to challenge it.

[Bazeye]

ithe only difference is that you could no longer park there as you would block the route..

Doesnt stop them here. cars actually park on the cycle lanes but the council arent interested.

[Bazeye]

ok just to put another view on it.
i know you, your house and the cycle path.
i also know the gate is not 10ft from the road as when you used to park your car side on to your gate (on the now cycle path) it had the gate tight on one side and the road tight on the other.
also you fail to mention you have another entrance to your property (which was the original main entrance), just yards up the side road along side your property.
it would seem you have a grievance with the council itself (or the fact you can no longer park outside your fence) as you could easily still drive through your gate over the cycle route, as there is no perminant fixture otherwise stopping you.
the only difference is that you could no longer park there as you would block the route.
why not phone the council and ask?
i know in the village itself, most houses property ends at their wall/fence and the owner has no say on the pavement outside it.
this may be the same case with your croft. as said above, check the deeds of your ground.
as a "keisser" myself i along with many others are delighted this path is being put in for the safety of children walking to and from school and their homes.
especially the stretch outside your home as it as on a fast stretch of road on a blind bend.
i dont want to argue but see it only fair that all details are known as without them all you won't get the answer your looking for.

Just visited this house from your description on streetview and to be honest i cant see what the problem is, theres acres of space to park.

[chordie]

Just visited this house from your description on streetview and to be honest i cant see what the problem is, theres acres of space to park.

The problem of the original poster has been stealthily outed by annemarie482 - NIMBYism!

[richard1976]

me again. rthankyou everybody for your useful comments;-) i have decided to move my gate back to the house so i do not need to wait on the cycle path whilst opening and shutting the gate so i can still park in my ORIGINAL drive.
dear annemarie thankyou for your opinion but we would like you to note, that it was two plots before we bought it and the side gate was to one of the propertys, we are not allowed to use side gate without first putting in a layby. thanks again all

[Commore]

So in other words you havent a clue, and Richard is no further on....

Use the FOI act (2002) and get a list of the Councils assets per area (wherever you are) and in a addition get a copy of the councils land certificate from the Keeper at the Register of Sasines, it should cost you under ten pounds for both,
It is the land certificate from the aforementioned that will give you / show you the exact boundaries,
Need more help or advice or info, or where to go for help, pm me.

[bekisman]

Back in England, there was a grass verge which went right up to our garden wall, some 10 yards wide and 40 yards long, our house was private, and the verge was Council.
Every week or so a bloke would appear with a mower and cut the grass. Then one fine morning, a knock on the door; a tall chap with a briefcase. "Mr Beks", he says, "would you be interested in purchasing this verge from us" (the Council)? What! It appeared it was not really economical getting this council worker to travel some distance just to mow the verge.. How much? "£850" he replies - we ripped his hand off, and within a few months, all paperwork done and the verge had been transferred into a large part of our garden, complete with fence..

A bit of consternation, when, upon digging a rather big hole for a mature Eucalyptus gunnii, we came upon some very thick and black cables, saw an electrician friend, who advised us to not dig any further and mumbled something about it being a three phrase system for the area?...