adverse possession ,how does dispute affect consideration of planning applications ?

[gingeroots]

Just wondering if anyone can help me -

neighbour has applied for planning permission which involves demolishing their garage to provide road access to a piece of backland .

the access is quite narrow - I would say 3 metres and includes some 6 inches which I would argue is over our boundary line .

The garage has been in place for over 20 years and I imagine that our neighbour could successfully apply to register the encroachment in his title .
We have never received a notification from Land Registry to say that it is being registered .

So if it's not registered to our neighbour what is the position regarding ownership? We would challenge any attempt to register - not sure we'd be succesful but the title deeds for our house show measurements which I think would support our view of the boundary line .

I appreciate that our planning department probably take the view that the application has been made and that any boundary disputes are up to landowners to settle but wondered what happens if the application is granted and we then dispute the boundary?

This current application is the fifth ,others have been rejected due to loss of amenity because of location of access road . Officers reports have previously noted inadequacy of width of access and that it appears to encroach over our boundary line .

I have spoken to the planning dept about the boundary issue but they just say that if the applicant's plans include a section of our land then he should give us notification to that effect .But I can't find out what happens if he doesn't.

Anyone any thoughts ?

Surveyor that I spoke to said might be worth waiting until/if the garage is demolished and at that point using professional help to challenge any attempt by our neighbour to establish fence/road edge boundary over what I believe to be ours .

[gingeroots]

anyone ?

[Spickle]

Not sure if this is helpful but has your neighbour owned his plot for over 12 years? If not, he would not be able to claim adverse possession. Even if he does attempt to claim adverse possession, Land Registry would check records to see if the land is registered to anyone else and then send Notices to all interested parties to let them know what has been proposed and if they have any objections. If the land is unregistered you should still be given Notice, which you can challenge. If I were you, I would phone Land Registry and get some advice.

My next door neighbour wanted to sell his plot to a developer and then it was discovered that a small strip of his garden, actually was registered to me. The sale could not go ahead, or planning permission granted, until ownership of this strip had been sorted out. My neighbour wanted to buy the strip of land from me. I agreed to sell only because the developer could still have fitted the four houses he wanted to build on the land without the strip, it just would have made the gap between two houses a lot smaller.

I am not an expert though.

[LandRegRep1862]

It is important to recognise that the planning process and land registration processes are not directly linked. For example the planning authority do not seek formal confirmation that the person applying to them actually owns the land they wish to build on. They are after all looking at the shape and size and style of the building.

6 inches is too small to be measurable using any scale from the registered details. Whilst deeds may refer to specific measurements the features used to measure may have changed or been removed and/or you simply don't know where the person measured from for example the inside or outside of a fence post. Our online guidance explains this in more detail for you www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/boundaries

As you already appreciate any dispute over the boundary is not one which the planning authority or indeed Land Registry can advise on or resolve. It is a matter for neighbours to resolve.

Challenging the planning application seems the best course of action although as explained already the boundary point would not be an appropriate challenge. The other aspects also mentioned re access etc may be the better option.

Disputing the boundary is also an option but as mentioned not one that would then involve either authority. Such disputes are either resolved between neighbours or through the legal process.

Note - if the garage is still in place then it might be an idea to take photographs of the building and the way it defines the current physical boundary for example just in case the dispute/disagreement escalates. And it is also important to note that if a dispute does exist then both you and your neighbour may be obliged to reveal that on any sale.

And of course, legal advice is always recommended.