Residents' Parking?

[malaise]

Not sure if I'm posting in the right category, but here goes.

There is a small patch of land near my house which has been Tarmaced and painted with parking bays. The residents of the flats nearby have chipped together to put down parking posts (http://www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk/pages/produc ts/metal_prod_det.aspx?tpc=CF&fmc=AZ&f nc=AX ). I assume they have paid for this and not the council, as there is no sign regarding the parking there erected by the council, and the parking bollards have been bolted and not riveted into the ground.

I can understand the residents wanting to secure a space, but the rest of the street have the same problem as it's almost impossible to park at any time of the day in the area.

I am curious to find out if the residents had any right to do this. The land may not belong to them, and if this is the case I'll go out with a socket set and take down the stupid posts myself! (OK, just kidding!)

How would I find out if they are allowed to put down these posts / if the ground belongs to the residents?

Thank you in advance! x

(X-posted in Motoring - not sure of right category?)

[compman]

The only way to know if this was done legally with planning permission, is to ring the planning department at your local council.

They will be able to tell what you want to know - or maybe what you don't want to know!

Let us know what you discover. Good luck.

[buildersmate]

Err...since when has one needed Planning Permission to create a parking space on private land for a private car? (different for parking commercial vehicles, I agree). This is a land ownership issue, and nothing to do with Planning Permission.

In theory, anyone can fence off a piece of land and maintain it. And after a number of years (typically 12) that person can register to claim the land for themself by Adverse Possession, sometimes referred to as Squatters Rights. You can find out whether the land is registered at the Land Registry (England & Wales) by applying to them in writing for a small fee, enclosing a plan of the land in question. But this only works if the land is registered. You could write to the council to see whether they think they own it - it could be council owned but not part of the public highway. Otherwise there is no simple way. There are lots of bits around in corners that no-one owns.

If you want to be included in the 'land grab club', why not ask how you can be a part of it too, as a local resident, showing a willingness to do your bit to maintain it, of course.

[lady_p_gold]

Is there a management company? Maybe they have bought the land. I suppose the question is have you got the right to park there too, or can they prevent you from parking there ? Although as buildersmate says, they may not need planning permission, you might find that a chat with the Planning Department might give you useful information on what everyone's rights actually are.

[malaise]

Thanks for your replies. I know literally nothing about management companies etc as I don't live in the block of flats. As far as I can see, there was a patch of land which the residents have claimed for their own private parking, and have gone ahead and spent considerable money turning it into "residents parking" (those parking posts cost a fortune!). There's only about 7 spaces so not even enough to cover all of the flats in their block, which is what confuses me. The flats were only built about 5 years ago, so no possibility of "squatters rights" at this point.

Basically, can I just phone my council to see who owns the land, as a starting point? If the land is not their own, presumably it would be illegal to prevent others from parking there? :-/

[malaise]

Oh and BTW, the posts were only erected 2 days ago. My partner and I had previously been parking there when there was no other spaces - we'd never received a complaint or any suggestion that we shouldn't be parking there. People in my area would definitely leave a cheeky note if you were treading on their toes!

[buildersmate]

If it had been recently legally purchased (and you are in England / Wales) the title to the land would have to be registered at the Land Registry, because land registration is now compulsory (in E&W) on transfer from one party to another. My writing to the council idea was just to determine if they think they own it - local Councils know nothing about general land ownership - that's the function of the Land Registry. The freehold of the land on which the flats sit may be owned by a property company and tied to the management of the flats - and it is possible that the piece of land is also owned by that company. The starting point for who owns what is by going to the link below. Put the postcode of one of the flats into the box and it will come back with all the registered land property title descriptions in that postcode (for free). To get further information (like a plan to show what the specific areas of ownership are) you will have to pay good money (�2 a go). HTH. http://www.landreg.gov.uk/