Hi

last week we noticed that a strip of woodland near to my folks home was being destroyed by contracters. They have felled more than a few trees and cut a hole in hedgerows.

We've discovered that the local council are allegedly going to redirect a public footpath through this area.

We know that there was a covenant placed on that land... long before i was born and that it cannot be built on at all. The current footpath skirts around this wooded area, but if they redirect it... will cut right through it and leave a public foot path invading the privacy of every ones home who backs onto that wooded area.

It's a nice road, no one is overlooked and every one says how peaceful and tranquil it is... but now they've destroyed it and seem to be continuing to do so as workmen were back out there today.

There are huge gaps in the trees where they've been cut down, healthy trees... you can now see right through to the buildings beyond and the lights from a car park they built on the other side of this wooded area now intrude into peoples bedrooms.

We need to find this covenant so we can check the legality of what they are trying to do, and stop it if we legally can.

After doing some searching on my own, I cannot find out where to begin... From what little knowledge I have it's something to do with being owned by John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford and a covenant was created to stop if being built on... But I have nothing more to go on at this time.

How do I find it?

The council have been of no help, I called and mentioned this to the planning dept and they blanked me completely.

land registry website

I know you mention the planning department of the council but as this would need planning permission have you asked them for a copy to see exactly what is says? (they may charge for a copy so be aware of that)

First place I tried... but I can't seem to find a way to search for a piece of land... it's only asking for address & postcode of a property... and this isn't either.

To search for a plot of land without a specific address, you'd need an Ordinance Survey grid reference and make a written application to the Land Registry for a manual search*. Depending on when the land last changed hands, it may not be registered, so further digging through local records may be needed on your part.

Even if there is a covenant in place preventing development, only those with a vested interest can take legal action to put a halt to any works. Such action is often slow and somewhat expensive.

One question to ask is are there any Tree Preservation Orders in place ?

*) https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/search-the-index-map

I know you mention the planning department of the council but as this would need planning permission have you asked them for a copy to see exactly what is says? (they may charge for a copy so be aware of that)

I would have thought OP should be able to track down any planning permission on the council planning department's website(?). If they can't find it there (eg don't know postcode) then a simple enquiry to the planning dept for a reference number etc. should allow them to search for it online.

I suppose a problem may be that whatever work is being done in/on the woodland may not be in breach of any covenant not to build on or "develop" it.

If it's not been sold recently (and I suspect it may not have been) then title is probably not registered.

I found a few 'hearsay' rumours that the original land owner had sold the strip of land to the local authority... But this wouldn't remove the covenant.

The only reference I can find to this strip of land is an inspire reference number, that when entered via the gov land reg site is prompting for payment to see the details.

which it sadly will

It's £3.

Got to weight the importance of these records against a good pint of real ale.

It's £3.

Got to weight the importance of these records against a good pint of real ale.

I can't drink any more sadly... partly because of medication and partly because of stomach surgery I had almost 2yrs ago to remove 2/3 of my stomach... which means I simply can't drink an entire pint any more, not even over the course of an hour or so... and I certainly can't have a drink with a meal, because I can only eat small portions slowly and adding a drink fills me up so quickly that I can eat more than a few morsels... One or the other.

Besides... I'm a cider drinker, not an Ale man.

Anyway... it appears that my calls and digging around have turned up some more info. At some point in the last 10yrs the land appears to have been sold/transferred to the local authority but the covenant remains in place. We think that this path they making is going to be a wood chipping type of path from what we've gathered... But will know more in the new year as we can't get responses to anything before then due to the holidays. Aside from the tree felling and the cutting of a hole in the hedgerow, all that's been done so far is a giant wood chipper was out there the other day converting the wood into chippings.

The lights from the large car park that was built are also now being turned off at night.. seems several people complained about the intrusion from them and the original planning permission stated that there would be no light intrusion from the building work. Not sure what time they get turned of but seeing as the rural museum that it's for is closed from around 5-6pm... it's a waste of money to have them on after early evening.