Boundary Dispute & Right of Access on Field

[Moonraker]

Is their a time limit to challenge a sited boundary on a field wrongly marked out by a buyers estate agent ? ...Also the buyer has blocked off a right of access thru' his strip of land to another field, which in the deeds allows for one passage per year of a Hay Baler. Does this right have to be exercised once a year to keep it active ? Unable to come to an amicable agreement with the guy, being the most unpleasant person I have had the misfortune to come in contact with.

[des8]

There is no time limit on disputing the position of boundaries, but do be aware that land disputes can become very costly.

Regarding the right of access, could you post up the wording as it appears on land registry file?

[Moonraker]

Just checked the deed states; 1. 'The part of the land affected thereby is subject to the following rights granted by a Transfer of land comprising' ..................

' 2. 'A right to pass and repass with a hay baler once a year by prior arrangement over fields OS Number8068'...(the field in question)


Not only has he fenced off access thru' to the gate needed with pig fencing & barbed wire (not exactly livestock & horse friendly), he has planted leylandii on the common border, which is toxic to livestock, & horses in particular, basically reflecting the nature of this obnoxious being.

[echat11]

Some links to Legislation, just scroll down - http://www.environmentlaw.org.uk/rte.asp?id=207

[des8]

So that right of access does not have to be exercised to keep it alive.

Rights of way can only be lost by express agreement (a deed of release) OR by the beneficiary showing by their actions that they intend to abandon it

A mere failure to exercise a right of way will not lose that right. In Benn v Hardinge [1992], the court held the fact that a right of way had not been used for 175 years did not give rise to a presumption that it had been abandoned!
Also the Court of Appeal in Dwyer v City of Westminster [2014] held that the non-use of a passageway for 40 years did not constitute abandonment. This was despite the fact that it had been blocked and inaccessible for most of that time, a neighbouring landowner having obtained it by adverse possession.

So tell him you intend to arrive with your baler and will require access.
If he refuses to agree you write to him warning him to comply or you will apply for a court injunction including a costs order against him.

Regarding the fencing, you might need to consider erecting an electric fence feet in from the leylandii, which you keep trimmed back to the boundary

[Moonraker]

Thanks for all the useful info’.

Coming back to the boundary issue, the amount of land in contention is only a small strip some 13ft by 170ft. At the time, I thought, would it be worth mounting a legal battle, possibly shooting myself in the foot with a ‘financial bullet’ to gain a legal & moral right. The guy concerned, soon put up a shed in the strip without planning permission, but has now applied for planning permission to replace it with a larger building to store timber ?? This to me is akin to rubbing salt in the wound. I will oppose this application with evidence I have to hand, that half of what he occupies belongs to me

I purchased the land some 20 years ago to accommodate rescue animals such as Dartmoor ponies & goats, something of a passion of my better half. Before completion, the seller decided he wished to retain a small strip at the top of the field where his wife had a horse buried. This strip of land goes to an existing gate, being the one that has the right of access to the field opposite. This documented information I have is on a letter from the seller’s solicitor to my solicitor, seemingly sent as there was some ambiguity about the correct measurements.

i.e.
‘Our client(seller),has now informed us that although the location of the land to be retained by our clients is correct the measurements are not’.

‘Our clients have informed us that the piece of land to be retained is 20ft wide by 165ft long’’

‘Apparently the piece of land goes up to the existing gate and our clients are going to fence it’.

These same measurements are quoted in a letter from the seller’s solicitor to Plymouth District Land Registry.

i.e.
‘We refer to special condition 7 of the contract. This states that the piece of land is approximately 20 ft wide by 165ft long’.

So I have two two letters from the seller’s solicitor stating the strip in question is 20ft by 165ft.

Over the course of some 15 years they never visited the grave, and the fencing eventually rotted & collapsed. In hindsight I should have insisted he replace it, but then we all know about hindsight !.

So some six years ago he decided to sell this strip, obviously not giving the info’ on these legal letters to either his new solicitor or the estate agent, who simply took the measurements off the OS mapping. The agent with his rule on a scale of 1;2500 calculating the strip to be some 10 meters by 56 meters. At the time I gave the agent & the seller copies of the his own previous solicitors letters stipulated the figures of 20 x 165ft, but they just fobbed me off, effectively giving me the ‘finger’ figuratively speaking. I also presented the new owner of this strip, with the same evidence in the hope that we could arrive at an amicable solution, but he went straight back to his solicitor, telling me next day to approach the seller or agent for compensation. As I said, at the time I was considering the financial implications of a legal challenge, but was already struggling emotionally with some other pressing domestic situations, so just let it go.

However, this recent planning application has just aroused my passions once more, more so in that the guy has proved so obnoxious over these recent years, not just to me, but all others around. Was wondering if I have sufficient ammunition to at least mount a ‘small claims action’, would hate to see such bullying types get away with such actions.

NB. Have just noted on the Land Registry Website Info’ re; boundary disputes;

‘The boundary positions are shown in a general way and although accurate and based on OS mapping, they are designed to lake precision when zooming in to a more detailed view of the border edges. Otherwise boundary disputes may arise where they did not before exist. And embroil the Land Registry beyond the scope of it’s purpose;.

And obviously the ‘Agent’ has just zoomed in on this small strip of land to calculate his figures.

Do you think I have a good case to go forward ?

[des8]

So to put it back to feet & inches the purchaser thinks he owns land just under 33' X 184' instead of 20' x 165'
and he now applies for planning permission to build on it.
The seller of course did not own the whole of that parcel of land and so did not pass good title to your neighbour.

The fact you own it won't necessarily stop the council giving PP, so although you can register your objection it may be ignored as ownership is not a planning consideration.

Initially you could write (first class with free certificate of posting from PO) telling him that you require access to your land
as per the right of way and that you require him to vacate your land and remove his fence and plantings.
Tell him that if he fails to comply you will apply for a court , including an order that he pays the cost.

From your description of him, I doubt he will roll over and will possibly instruct a solicitor.
If that occurs you may wish to instruct your own solicitor.
Costs now start to come into play!

[Moonraker]

I will object to the planning, giving the evidence that I have, that he has taken some of my field, and will state it is my intention to be mount a legal action to regain what is rightfully mine. This in itself may well persuade him to enter into a dialogue with me, though I have my doubts on that. However, he will always be wondering if, and when that may happen. I have to see a solicitor sometime soon to draft, a will, and intend to use the same firm, Will run this issue past them to see what they think. The size of the land he has taken is not that much, but his refusal to accept that he is in the wrong, together with his aggressive & threatening attitude, compels me to challenge his position. The question is, if I prevail will it prove to be a pyrrhic victory.?

But whatever, thanks for all your help on this, I am a great believer in 'What comes around goes around', l hope that this will be the case. !!

[des8]

Good luck then, and if you can keep this thread updated it may help others.