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

[BarkItOff]

I live on a new build estate, it’s been up a few years now but the roads are still unadopted so it’s ‘technically’ private.

There is a park on the estate and there are 2 access points to this park. 1 at the entrance to the estate and 1 further down the estate close to a neighbouring estate.

One of the neighbours has put a sign up further down, stating private road, I mean technically yes but public access is still allowed but the CF has also put a chain and padlock on the gate to the path that leads to the park with a sign saying private!

I have been told this was because children from the neighbouring estate were using the park via this entrance and as we pay for the upkeep of the park it’s private. Except it’s not! It’s still a park able to be accessed by anyone. It’s made it particularly annoying for people on this side of the new build estate that have children as you have to walk all the way round to the front to get onto the park when there is literally a gate that leads to an access path right in front of you. And those of us that walk dogs there like to walk full circle, in one end and out the other and now we have to double back.

As the roads are unadopted will the council sort this and point out that she doesn’t own the park. The builders are long gone and we’re a nightmare to chase up snagging never mind anything else so they will be no help. The management company doesn’t want to know and say it’s not their responsibility. I’m tempted to go and cut the chain but I guess that’s criminal damage as she owns the chain.

I’d just cut it off and not worry about any disguise as it makes it seem like you are doing something wrong. She doesn’t own the gate, she has no right to prevent access to a public park. She can report all she wants but the police won’t do anything and if they do bother to come out they will probably tell her the exact same thing.

Another vote for Fire Service. What happens if there’s an emergency right next to that gate & emergency services have to take the long route in? (They would just cut it but.) Them, the mgt company, the council and the bolt cutters in that order.

Again, no legal expertise but if she did report the removed padlock, I imagine she would have to prove she had authority to padlock the gate in the first place.

For God's sake can everyone please stop suggesting this.
Yes it's criminal damage as the padlock belongs to her.
No the police wouldn't be involved unless you did this and she reported you OP.
She seems very much the type who would.
I'm a police officer. Had no choice but to bring someone in (albeit voluntarily) who had been victim of their neighbours harassment for months and months and had finally snapped and thrown a stone at their window. Their neighbour of course had reported them straight away. Go through the proper channels such as council etc and don't give this silly woman any excuse.

The padlock belongs to her. That's the issue.

OP do not cut the lock.

Right, so who do you pay it to?

Bang on her door at 6am and ask her to unlock the gate for you. Every morning. Get someone else to knock five minutes later. Keep bugging her.

Yes I am well aware that while she doesn’t own the gate, she owns the chain and lock and she absolutely would report it! She seems to spend almost all her day watching the road outside her house and telling children they can’t walk past there / climb the gate that they wouldn’t need to climb if she hadn’t locked it etc.

A maintenance company, who I have already contacted and they say it isn’t in their remit.

I think then you are on your own if they won't help. They should, however, be able to tell you in no uncertain terms who they are managing the road for - in other words the person or company who owns it.

But the point remains, someone owns that road. It's either a freeholder (be it a person or company), or it's each and everyone of you who has a freehold property on the street. And if the latter is the case, you will have documentation to prove this, along with a limited company that's registered with Companies House.

I know you feel like you are going round in circles, and that a lot of what's being said has been repeated, but it really is the case that someone owns the road, if not the council. When you bought the property, you should have been told exactly who owns it. This is what I can't understand; why have you never been told?

Could you get a solicitor to write a letter requesting that the gate is left open?

But who would they be acting on behalf of? No one seems to know who owns the road.

Fall over the chain and threaten to sue?

And also why are you all so passive - knock her door every time you want access.

Or find the estate Facebook page and post about the gate and to knock x number for access

If you’re paying for the park it can’t be a public park?

This is my point. And I get that the OP says they pay their money to a management company, but somebody somewhere appointed that management company, and they will be acting on behalf of someone, be it a person or company. I do symapthise with the OP's cause, but I am baffled as to how they cannot know exactly who owns the road and the parkland, especially as it's a new-build, as everything would have needed to be known before building the estate took place.

Report it to the council, its a right of way. The fact soneone owns the land is irrelevant. Footpaths over farmland are owned by the farmer, they still cant block them.

But all we have to go on is the OP's word that it's publicly accessible. I'd like to know where that is in writing.

Well, what are you paying them for? If they are a maintenance company they are responsible for maintaining the roads/paths/park areas in a usable state, and clearly her chaining the gate and putting up private signs prevents the community using them.
I would contact them again, as well as local council, planning and any other people who might help with right of way issues.

If I was paying maintenance for a park I
would expect that it wasn’t public. I’m civic minded but wouldn’t feel ok about paying for others.

Have you tried talking to her?

Well, what are you paying them for?

This is where it gets confusing, when land and management companies are involved. Yes, the management company is there to oversee the maintenance of the land and leasehold buildings, but they are acting for the land owner, not the people who "pay" them. The reason I put "pay" in inverted commas is because they are in every other sense reimbursing the management company for the works carried out.

Now, if the people paying are also a % share owner of the land, then yes, the management company is working for each of them. But as I keep saying, someone somewhere is the owner of the land and it is they who needs to take up the cause of someone who is chaining-off land so that others who are entitled to use it cannot do so.

Honestly…I wouldn’t message turn up at her door and ask her to remove it, stating all of the reasons why. If she is adamant that it is to stay I would call her bluff and say ok then seen as you have taken this upon yourself , I would like a key for the lock please and while you are at it you can cut one for every other house too as they will want access. Thank you.

But without proof of who owns it and who is entitled to use it, the OP is in no more of a position to tell the woman to take it off than the woman was to put it on. And trust me, I'm on the OP's side with this, but so far the evidence she needs to make her case looks like it's absent.

Well if the woman can prove she owns then it’s job done…if she doesn’t then everyone needs access. OP needs to talk to her!

OP needs to talk to her!

This I do agree with.