To ask who I’m supposed to report my CF neighbour to?

That's a great idea in theory, but while there's a management company in place at the moment I'd be giving them hell over this.

Someone appointed the management company - OP thinks it was the developer, who seems to have moved the responsibility of the road onto the freeholders, presumably by allocating them a share of the road (usually the part in front of their home).

The management company could quit tomorrow if they chose to, and it's what happens after that which I'd like know - who is responsible for appointing a new management company? And for that matter who is responsible for keeping the existing ones in place? What happens if they leave, or are doing a poor job? Who is going to be responsible for taking out a new insurance policy? And who is currently responsible for the parts of the road which are not even in front of anyone's home?

I mean this so respectfully to the OP, but there are so many questions unanswered, and having lived in flats and dealt with many managing agents over the years, there's no way I'd be letting this slide - they hold all the answers, but it seems they are not giving them. I'd wager a be they realise they are on very thin ice managing this site when the developers appointed them & walked away, and won't want to lose the job, but then they don't seem to be doing a fat lot either.

Can you not rally all interested (and probably annoyed) neighbours to go and knock at CF neighbour's door at all hours of the day and night asking for the key? As you need to get in to walk the dog, go for a run, check for burglars, whatever strikes you? Surely CF can't refuse you a key to a publicly-owned gate to a public park?

I was going to suggest this. I would have great fun putting on a big hat, balaclava, sunglasses coat etc and sneaking out in the middle of the night.

Create a new one!

Start with a whatsapp group, go knock on doors, see people while walking your dog, go up to people and say you are creating group to keep in touch about the neighbourhood. If no one else is doing it and you are bothered you will have to do it.

I think that’s a bit extreme. Your local Councillor is one thing, but going to you MP is a bit much!

Surly just writing to your MP and letting them investigate who should be dealing with this is the easiest solution now?

Just to add, Land registry has recently upped a lot of its prices from £3 to £7. That's inflation for you.

I have experience of a similar situation and I understand your predicament OP because these developments go ahead without proper thought - I don’t know why. I now live somewhere where there’s a residents company set up and it’s much better.

Anyway, in the first instance OP make the residents committee aware of the situation if they’re not already. Ideally their Chair or representative should speak to the resident and ask her to remove the lock. You or they can also go to the management company who should write to the CF reminding her she will have signed something about free passage around the site. The only way the CF could get round this is by issuing EVERY resident with a key (we have a tennis court where I live now and we all have a key to stop non residents using it.)

HOWEVER if the park was built for the use of the community as a whole then it must be demised to the local authority (you could check this online for £3 at the land registry). If so, then they are the ones you need to go to. Otherwise you’d be paying a hefty amount of public liability insurance in your fees.

I think if you have it in writing that CF has been asked to remove the lock and she hasn’t within a reasonable time limit, then it’s not unreasonable for you to get a group together of like minded people and remove it.

Does your management company include a property manager? If so email them directly and request they deal with it straight away.

😂😆😃😁

Ha ha, oops! Wrong thread!

No idea what I’ve done here, I never even saw this thread!!!

And in respect of the OP, what do you think about her neighbour who's taken it upon herself to chain-up some gates to restrict public access to the park?

So why is this committee not doing a thing about the chained-up gates? And (and I a genuinely laughing now as it's really tickled me) why on EARTH didn't you mention this committee before???

I swim, that’s my biggest passion in my life, I compete and have done for over 50 years. I also have a motorbike, which is a fairly new thing. I’m loving it, I’m in the later 50’s and I wanted something new now my children are moving on.

Oh OP, why won’t you go talk to her? What’s the worst that could happen- she’ll shout and be rude? Just go knock on her door saying she needs to remove her lock on the gate, it’s not her private gate so if she doesn’t you or one of the other residents who want to be able to use the gate again will cut off the lock.

and definitely try to set up a residents association. First thing they should do, remove the gates altogether.

I've been thinking about this thread off and on all day. Frankly, the woman chaining the gate has done the OP a favour, in as much as it's brought to the front that there's a lot of uncertainty about who is responsible for what, and that the management company cannot be relied upon to help.

Better that this all comes to light now, rather than when some horrifically expensive resurfacing work (or similar) needs to take place, and people who live there refuse to pay.

As it is, I cannot understand how there isn't at the very least a residents association, let alone a board of directors, who are overseeing what goes on and what the management company are doing (or not doing).

Then get proactive and start with a residents whatsapp group, progress to a meeting, get people on side and become a group if nothing else you’ll need to manage the estate and grounds and this is part of it.

I'd get my husband to cut them off in the middle of the night and throw it away, every time.

It’s mad that no one will just go and cut them off and are waiting for some sort of authority to do it.

Put an official looking notice on the gate saying remove this chain within 7 days of the notice, or it will be removed and disposed of.

If you really wanted to, you could get somebody to video you on their phone.

You could give a brief introduction about how somebody has illegally blocked access to a popular community facility, so you - on behalf of the community - are removing the illegal lock with as little damage as is necessary. You are then leaving the lock on the ground next to the gate, so the owner can freely come and collect their property.

If the owner challenges you, offer to show the authorities the video - and see if they still want to go ahead and report you. If they do report you, still freely offer the video to them. You have nothing to hide.

I'd also upload it to social media and/or YouTube, where people can leave comments and clearly display the groundswell of public opinion.

Ok fair enough. So is there no committie, or board of directors, overseeing all of this? Who do the managment company answer to? And if, for example, the mangement company closed down, who would appoint new managers? From what you have said no one is in charge.