Extending garden into council owned land

[BreakfastClub]

We are looking at buying a house which backs onto retirement housing. It is not a problem as it is a nice area and quiet.
I was just wondering if it would be possible to request permission from the council for us to extend the garden slightly?
It backs onto a communal garden area that is not used.
Any advice welcome. Also, any idea what the fee to do this would be?
Thanks

Do you want to rent it or buy as it’s very unlikely they’ll give you permission to use it without some kind of licence or rental agreement in place, if at all.
Do you know if it is the Council that actually owns the land? You can check on Land Registry and download the Title to find out who the owner is and then you’d have to approach the owner and see if they’d be willing to sell a part of it to you. If they were then you’d want to do it legally and get it registered as part of your Title so you’d need to use a solicitor, the owner may want an RICS valuation to work out its value so they may stipulate that you have to pay for that as well as their legal costs so it could get pricey.
Depends how big of an area you want, how badly you want it and what you’re willing to pay really.

Perfect advice, covers all of the bases. (Also ace username - g'wan, g'wan, g'wan!)

Thank you @MrsDoylesTeacup
We definitely want to do it all legally with solicitors as we would want to buy it.
I checked and it is owned by the council. I would only want up to a couple metres not a lot. If this is not possible I would want to at least straighten it off at the back as it currently is at an angle.

I used to work for a Council & you can ask, no problem. People did it all the time.

Better than the guy local to me who just decided to enclose a big space without asking...

@Chazbots thanks, does the council usually say yes? What reason would they refuse?

Also, did they guy get fined?

My in-laws did this years ago (bought a bit of spare land from the council) and had a bigger garden than neighbours as a result. Definitely worth asking.

Interesting @MissSookieStackhouse

As my garden backs onto a communal garden area of a retirement estate/village I worry that they will have more strict rules but I definitely will enquire just incase.

Each Council will have a published policy on land sales.
Check that to save yourself stress.

They are unlikely to want to sell it to you, but can ask.

Absolutely ask the council. It’s unlikely to be available as it will be designated amenity land, but you never know. If they do sell, it will be at the market rate following a valuation from an independent land surveyor.

You would likely need planning permission for the change of use of the land which would be separate from any permissions about ownership. You could see if the council offer pre-application advice which you could ask for before buying the house. If it's a deal breaker you'll know where you stand. You could even make it a condition of your offer subject to getting planning permission for the land

The whole row of houses opposite me now rent 1/2 the garden from the council for £3 a month (they all extended it 20 odd years ago) apparently they're is a clause that says after 30 years they can apply to buy the bit of land. I expect its council specific. In my neighbours cases the land backs on to woodland and they got to extend about 5 metres each.

Thank you all.
I can see that there is a large tree just behind the fence. It is a wire fence, so I can see straight through. We would like to replace it with a wooden one. If the tree is in the way regarding roots and low branches etc would they be more likely to allow us to fence just after the tree? lol I am trying any excuse now!
Ideally prefer to keep the tree as it offers privacy.