Right of way being built over in future?

[GlazedandConfused]

I live on a terrace with occasional side ginnels leading off the street to a communal back alley. Our house has a long way round to street via the communal back alley at the end of our garden.

Our house also has a quick way to the street via a legal right of way that we have through a gate and running across the back of next door’s garden pit to the street, down their side ginnel.

This same neighbour wants to extend their house at the back which would be built extending past the current gate we have into their garden and covering over the current right of way.

Because this path runs across their garden we rarely use it and would always ask first- so for example when we re-roofed and recarpeted and had a skip to fill, we used it then.

I’m fine with them building their extension, but they’d need to get a solicitor to legally change the right of way to fit with the new plan wouldn’t they?

Yes, I think they would. I lived in a house with a similar set up, and our access across the neighbour’s garden was set out in our house deeds (and presumably their deeds as well), so I expect your house deeds would need to be amended.

Are they applying for planning permission or doing the work under permitted development? As you have another access at the back, you probably don’t have grounds to object, but I’d suggest getting your own solicitor to ensure the change to the access is done correctly.

Is it marked on a plan ?

Also, you may need a party wall agreement depending on how close their extension is to the boundary with your property. This is separate to planning permission/ building control. Just mentioning it as there was a thread last week about a neighbour’s loft extension causing damage to the OP’s loft, and the work had gone ahead without a party wall agreement.

We have a similar set up. When we bought the house the lawyer said that the back alleys didn’t belong to anyone. “No man’s land” is the term he used. So it might be a bit of a tricky one, probably take it up with the council?

You're right, they can't build until the deeds have been updated. They need to pay your legal fees. You can't leave this without updating the deeds, the right of way across their garden adds value to your property that access via the back alleyway doesn't give.

I think that the local authority have to keep a definitive map of all ROW up to date for their area. You could ask to see that.

However now I've reread your OP, I'm
not sure if you mean a public right of way, or an easement?

Thank you very much everyone. Ethelred thanks, I think it must be an easement, not a right of way. It’s not a public right of way like a public footpath is but it gives (only!) us a right of way across their garden via a gate in their fence out there just for that purpose. EllieQ thanks, yes it is a planning application. Gaspanic it’s described in a written text somewhere I think- need to find it. I don’t remember seeing a plan with it drawn out on. Will check deeds.

So it sounds like I should say to the neighbours, that we have no objections to them extending their back but they will need to pay for the legal redrawing of the easement giving us the same access/right of way to their passageway to the street (with a similar gate arrangement in the fence resited to fit their new extension footprint). And I will ask about a party wall agreement.

PragmaticWench I hadn’t really thought about these access rights adding value to my house but of course that makes sense. If we wanted to extend our place, say, and we couldn’t use that quick access way to the street then it would definitely add cost and time to our build…

Palmfrond your terrace sounds similar -the communal alleyway part doesn’t seem to belong to anyone either.

I’m not familiar with this kind of housing (but I watched “Happy Valley” last night so is it a similar set-up?)

What I’m thinking is, that would the closure of the footpath/right of way cut off an escape path for you if your house caught fire? Would the fire brigade ever need access via this pathway to the rear of your house in an emergency?

Just something to take into consideration if this applies.

It would definitely be the quickest route to get to the back of our house, yes. I’ll have to watch Happy Valley now!