Will information

[bassett]

Hi
A member of my family lives in a National Trust property which was left, along with a large amount of land to them in 1960. She is in dispute with them regarding a farmyard adjoining her property (but not part of hers) which they have leased out to a wedding venue hire firm and the noise/disturbance etc is exceptional and the Trust will have nothing to do with it. What I wanted to ascertain was whether they can do what they want with the farmyard, or whether the bequeathment may have been specific about the land use. Is there a way to find this out?

[Amethyst]

First step is probably to check the Land Registry for the land address - https://www.gov.uk/search-property-i...-land-registry
Do you know the name/DOB etc of the person who owned the land before bequeathing it to the National Trust ? There might be clauses in the Will re terms of the bequest https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate

[bassett]

Hi Amethyst
Thank you. Yes I located her date of death and name of solicitors in probate so I think I can purchase her will for £10. Not having any experience of wills I wondered if this is likely to go into details about the terms under which she left the land/properties to the Trust.

[bassett]

I wonder if anyone can give me any further advice regarding the above. I am now in receipt of the will. It (the will) clearly states that the farm which houses the wedding/stag firm and is the cause of the problems can strictly only be used for agricultural purposes. How much weight does this carry in law?

[Peridot]

Hi Bassett,
Good you've got a copy of the Will. You also need to see the NT agreement following distribution of the Will assets in the 60's I would have thought.
If you are in touch with the solicitors who dealt with the estate they may have further information. It would appear clear from the Will the intention of the deceased when they left the land to the NT and this should have been reflected in any transfer of the property possibly by way of a restriction.

Can you clarify who owned which bits of land when the NT were left the property and some land under the Will. Did the NT already own land in the vicinity including what is now used as the wedding venue or was that also owned by the deceased?

It may be worth obtaining a copy of the information held at the Land Registry for the property and land adjoining. You should then be able to see what restrictive covenants may be in place then. Land Registry information can be found here:-https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/search-the-register


You will need a copy of the title register which is about £3 but you may also need to complete an index map search to show who owns what in the area. This can be obtained at the same link above.

Once you have the information we may be in a position to point you in the right direction whether there is a restrictive covenant over the land or if this was not done whether the family member has any other recourse.

[Amethyst]

Is it a marquee based event or have they converted agricultural buildings ? ( just thinking away from the Will / Covenant side of things for a minute )

They can use a marquee up to 28 days a year without planning permission - longer/more than 5/6 times a year then they will need planning - change of use of an agricultral building would require planning permission - so it may be worth checking on the local council planning applications site.

They may also need event licences etc so it could be worth speaking directly with the council ( probably planning dept first)( - as it would be them deal with the planning/licencing issues ( with consultation with the NT I expect )

[bassett]

Hi Peridot
Thank you for your post. The firm who were Executors no longer exist it seems. The NT were left the house, the farm, all the land and a campsite. They have no other local property, so yes it was all from same estate at the same time. Note attached to the farm on the other side is a campsite which has always been there and was run by an NT warden who lived in a cottage at end of the farmyard.
The will says 'I give devise and bequeath to the NT in the confident expectation that in view of their publicly expressed intention of respecting the wishes of testators who leave their property to them they will apply the income derived from these properties in the form of rentals (residential agricultural or camping) to retain natural beauty and historic interest and further bequeath the residue of my personal estate.'
She left them around £250,000 in todays money in cash also.
Where do you think I stand on a) their (NT's) right to allow their tenants to run weddings/stag/hen do's (see reply to amethyst also) from buildings left to them for agricultural use/rental income and b) what rights do I then have in addressing them about it?
Appreciate your help, thank you.

[bassett]

Hi Amethyst
Thanks for this. No it is from a large cowshed and what used to be a haybarn (2 separate sites in same yard effectively). Have looked through planning before and just rechecked - they have planning for wedding venue although there are some holes in licensing etc. I did speak with environmental health last year. We were blasted out all summer (there are even more bookings this year) and I ran into an ex employee of next door who told me they turn the council installed sound boxes OFF when they have an event. They know what they are doing. EH lady told me when they installed the boxes they 'were promised the cowshed was about to be professionally soundproofed' and she set the sound boxes accordingly. She went on to say 'she was lied to'. I have tried multiple times with our neighbours to resolve this. They just lie to be honest. I see the only recourse now to go back to the root of it and if the building cannot be used for anything bar agricultural as per will then that is (hopefully) my stick and they might finally - at least - get the soundproofing done.

[des8]

If you are not satisfied with the council’s response, you can take action yourself. If you live in England or Wales, you can either argue that the noise amounts to an offence (a noise nuisance) and take action in the magistrates’ court, or you can sue for compensation in the county court.

[bassett]

Thanks Des. I am hoping if the NT are in breach of the Will the quickest and most painless (and cheapest) way to resolve it will be for them to pull the plug, literally!