If you 'take' land. after 5/7/10 yrs, does it belong to you ?

[Oblomov]

I only ask, becasue both our neighbours, built new fences many years ago. but when they did, they ate into the communal garden at the rear of our houses. extending by about 30ft, so basically doubling their gardens. in the process, they hemmed in us. now the trees and bushes are very tall and we are even more hemmed in. but do they own this land now ?
if you have land for a certain amount of time does it become yours, irrespective of what your deeds say ?

No.

You need to get a copy of everyone's title deeds to see where the boundaries of their properties lie.

No.

You could look on the land registery database, most of it is electronic these days.

Yes it can do, our neighbours did the same thing next door and they acquired a small piece of land to tack onto their garden, but more interestingly they were just refused their claim for a second bit. The council came round and decided it was still needed as common land. I can't remember how long it is you have to have it for either but I think it's longer than 7 years, maybe even as many as 15 (useless, sorry!). I think the council turned them down for the second bit because it was still in use by others and/or would inconvenience others if they owned it. Same would apply in your case from the sound of it.

Ask your council's planning department for guidance.

It depends if the communal land is registered at the land registry. If it is registered and your neighbours apply to register the bit they have fenced, then the owner will be nofified and the owner of the communal land can object and reclaim the land. If it is not registered then they can apply to have it registered in their name 12 years after they have fenced it off. Who owns the communal land and do you know if it is registered at the land registry ?

no idea who owns it. assume council. they come in and mow it, tend to the plants and trees. i assume that it is just considered to be parkland, like any bit of grass on the side of pavements , in the middle of roundabouts, that kind of thing ?
can#t be registered land surely ? why would anyone care about this bit of grass/shrubbery , as it were. the communal area is about 3/4 of a football pitch, in size.

It might be registered. Sometimes councils go round registering all their land. If you are really bothered talk to the council to see if they do own it, or the land registry who will talk you through doing a search to see if it is registered.