Who owns the roadside verges?

Evening folks,

Does anyone know who owns, or is responsible for the roadside verges in the countryside?

Just beyond the boundary of my piece of land there is an area about the size of a good size garden. Its on an embankment, north facing, and part of the roadside verge.

Usually it is full of bracken, but with all the snow the last year's bracken has been squashed flat, so the ground looks easy to clear.

I was thinking about filling it with young native trees (at my own expense) but obviously I'd need permission first so that I don't get into trouble. The trouble is I have no idea who I should contact to discuss it.

Any ideas?

 

Hi Dave,

Its a very sketchy area. Even if you did get permission from whoever owns the land, it probably wont stop the subcontracted verge mowers from cutting all your trees down.

They took my hedge out last year & that was on my land. Took a few months, but, fair play to them, they did supply me with 10 new privet bushes. Despite e mails asking me what species they had mown down, they still supplied the wrong ones.:DOH:

You could try annexing the whole site. Put a fence round it with solid posts & high viz tape. Take a pic & put it on here, so it is dated. Plant your trees & if no one challenges you for ownership, after 12 years its yours. Then get in touch with land registry & get it put into your name.

Check all this out with your solicitor though, i'm not insured to give legal advice, I was only the gardener at the College of Law.

 

You could start by asking the Council, Clueless.
And if you want to plant there the Roads Dept will want to have something to say - line of sight regulations and all that.
And if you're thinking about clearing bracken check out the H & S regs first - it's a carcinogen.
Good luck with the project.

 

You'll probably need a licence for planting within the highway, and the Highway Authority will take account of visibilty, plus whether anything is poisonous, prickly, etc. (more H&S).

Land owned by the Highways Agency used to be classed as Crown Land and had (still has?) a much longer period than 12 years before adverse possesion could be claimed.

- just a couple of things I can remember from when I was a Parish Councillor, and your PC is probably the best first contact.

As for contractors cutting things down, the County Council planted trees, bulbs and wildflower beds in the village roadside verges, then their grass cutting contractors went through the lot on their first mow of the year.

And even if you have a licence, as the PC did for a tree planting scheme, it didn't stop the highway maintenance contractors turning that area into a compound for their plant & materials.

If you do plant, don't forget about underground street lighting cables.

 

Thanks all.

Just to pick up on a few of the points mentioned:

I don't think the mowers will be a problem. They never go over the patch of ground I had in mind. I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job of describing the plot in in question. It is on a fairly steep embankment, sloping down from the road towards my land at about 30 degrees. The verge itself at the top, at the edge of the road, is occassionally mowed, but I wouldn't plant at that point anyway because it would mean tree branches reaching out into the road, which would of course be dangerous.

I'm also aware that there are probably things to consider that I haven't thought of, which is why I'd need to consult whoever is responsible. Not just for the legal side, but also because they may be aware of safety issues that I'm not. For example it occurred to me today that if I was to plant shallow rooted trees there, and high wind ripped them out, they'd pull a significant chunk of the bankside out with them, and the bank side carries a fairly busy road so I wouldn't want to weaken the road so it starts to subside.

What I had in mind was lower growing trees such as Hawthorn and Blackthorn, and maybe some Honeysuckle and wild roses among it all. All these species grow wild on my land so it they would be in keeping with the natural surroundings.

I wouldn't want to tie myself into a contract to maintain the bank side, so if I do manage to arrange anything, although I'm willing to give the trees a haircut when they need it, I don't want to be compelled by contract or law to do so.

I think there are many things to consider, and I think the next step is, as some of you good folks have suggested, to have an informal chat with the council.

 

Sounds to me that this is not what could be described as a 'roadside verge' but rather a larger area of land dropping down from an existing roadside verge down towards your back garden? Am I right?
If that is correct then all of the advice given is mis placed and (except for the advice to speak to your local Council which can do no harm) could be dangerous to act on

 

The way you describe it is much better than they way I did, except its not to my back garden. I have a plot of land in the countryside, so its not the same as the urban planning rules if that makes any sense?

It is actually within a national park boundary, which may be in my favour, or may not, depending on how I play it and who I get to speak to. The national park authority is, I'm told, keen on eco projects provided that they are in keeping with the surroundings. However they are also, I'm told, very difficult people to please. What I gather from that is that if I get to the right person, they will support me, but if I get the wrong person I'll get told to leave it full of bracken, litter and hub caps.

 

Sounds about right and it also sounds like you should do nothing until you have spoken to them and come to an agreement which suits you both
Good luck

 

[size=large]Clueless, why don't you post a photo of it? Save all the attempts at description.

You know what they say - a picture is worth a thousand words! [/size]:WINK1:

 

I work for the wildlife trust doing this sort of work...ie bringing unused land into productive/wildlife friendly use......go for it lots of councils are becoming more and more responsive to this....(road side land is often county council rather than local council land) If you come across stumbling blocks...contact your local wildlife trust they may be able to help.

 

I would if I could figure out how to. Last time I tried (several attempts), nothing happened.

 

The county council will (almost) certainly own the land. I'd get in touch with your county councilor for advice.

 

Most (if not all) County (etc.) Councillors will simply reply that they've passed your request to the relevant department, asking that they reply to you direct.

The reason I suggested asking the Parish Council who was responsible for the land is that, although it's unlikely to be them, they get so many queries from parishioners who don't know whom to contact, that it's very likely they can advise. Best done by 'phone and don't get into any details otherwise they'll agendarise it, and have an uninformed discussion and vote at their next meeting.

So, based on my experiences as both a parish councillor, working for a local authority, dealing with the highways authorities, etc., if it was me I'd prepare my case for the planting scheme before contacting the relevant authority.

P.S. A Cautionary Tale - Someone put a lot of time and effort into encouraging the wild flowers on an area of land the parish council had a licence to plant and maintain, also ensuring the PC's grass cutting specification was suitably adapted for that area. My input was so successful that they reported in the Village Newsletter that the district council's 'biodiversity/countryside section' had advised them what a wonderful wild flower habitat we had. Then the parish council changed the grass cutting specification and mowed them out every fortnight.