Leasing land across my home

[Essexgirliex]

Hi I was hoping for some advice either from someone who works in the council or general property people please.

We moved into our home almost 2 years ago now with 3 kids under 5, there’s 3 parking spaces right infront of our property. one has been taken up by a neighbour who has abandoned their old car which we were told would be moved, 2 years ago (it hasn’t).

The other 2 spaces are used up by I guess other people who visit others in the estate. Honestly this is totally an oversight on my part as I just didn’t think of the inconvenience when we moved in a couple years ago. It has been frustrating to say the least, people coming in and out at different hours. We’ve been maintaining the land because it’s in front of our property so we tidy up the weeds etc. We have found out that the council own the said land. Are we able to write to the council to lease it to us? What would be the best way to phrase it to them so the application is received from positively please?

Are you sure that you want to do this? It’s incredibly difficult for private individuals to remove ‘unauthorised’ vehicles from private land/parking spaces, if you lease the land it becomes your responsibility. Can you report the abandoned car to the council? If it’s on their land they may be able to remove it.

It’s extremely unlikely the council will lease public parking spaces to you. Are they actually spaces or do people put their cars on a strip of land? If it’s land then identify the area you want through land registry and contact your councils property/estates department. You will have to provide a map of the plot, photographs on how you maintain it and how you plan to use it. You will probably have to pay any administrative and surveyors fees.
You can also report the abandoned car. Do you know if it’s taxed or has a valid MOT? If not report it to the DVLA. You can also report it to the council and they will inspect it and put a statutory notice on it prior to removal.