Environment agency letter telling me I now own a culvert
Discussion
The Environment Agency have just written to me to say they are updating their river maps so that a culvert currently shown as under my neighbour's house will now be under my garden. This is a surprise, and apparently as a 'Riparian Owner' will make me liable for repair costs and maintenance.
I can't blame my conveyancing solicitor as there was nothing to miss. Can the Environment Agency really impose this obligation from nowhere?
Any Riparian Ownership experts here or can anyone recommend a specialist solicitor?
There is a date given for comments followed by a 'formal consultation period. No idea what that entails.
S.
Has the culvert moved or is it just guesswork as to where it is? Before you get to the point of accepting this as being on your land would it not be worth establishing exactly where it is and then basing your response on that?
How is your conveyancing solicitor responsible for this? It the run of the culvert marked on a map and did they overlook it or is it incorrectly marked?
How is your conveyancing solicitor responsible for this? It the run of the culvert marked on a map and did they overlook it or is it incorrectly marked?
Definitively not my solicitors fault. The environment agency are changing the map 'based on survey data'. In other words the maps they supplied when we bought the house were wrong.
When we bought the house the culvert was clearly shown under next door, now the map is going to be changed. Hopefully my picture will show below.. blue line is the current map and red line is what they are changing it to.
When we bought the house the culvert was clearly shown under next door, now the map is going to be changed. Hopefully my picture will show below.. blue line is the current map and red line is what they are changing it to.
spanky3 said:
Definitively not my solicitors fault. The environment agency are changing the map 'based on survey data'. In other words the maps they supplied when we bought the house were wrong.
When we bought the house the culvert was clearly shown under next door, now the map is going to be changed. Hopefully my picture will show below.. blue line is the current map and red line is what they are changing it to.
Sorry, misread your first post and thought you were suggesting that your solicitor might have dropped the ball! When we bought the house the culvert was clearly shown under next door, now the map is going to be changed. Hopefully my picture will show below.. blue line is the current map and red line is what they are changing it to.
That's a pretty big change in location on the maps, how have they determined the updated location? I wonder what the cost would be of some 'Time Team' style ground-penetrating radar in your garden to prove that it's not under your house. Might be money well spent!
Seems a bit extraordinary that the EA can just change the legal responsibility for a culvert just like that and dump significant potential cost on the OP depending upon the condition of the culvert.
I think a conversation with a surveyor/legal expert to confirm the EA can do this and secondly confirm their data is correct. I would be a bit pee'd off if this landed on my doorstep.
Also when did they go round and survey your garden? Did they ask first?
I think a conversation with a surveyor/legal expert to confirm the EA can do this and secondly confirm their data is correct. I would be a bit pee'd off if this landed on my doorstep.
Also when did they go round and survey your garden? Did they ask first?
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 3rd December 21:38
Pica-Pica said:
DavePanda said:
Pica-Pica said:
Can there not be a claim against your conveyancer for missing it, and they can then make a claim about their search results being unreliably informed?
Did you read the post?Thanks all.
No one has been in my garden so I don't know what survey data they are using. I've emailed and asked for a conversation.
If they are wrong about the change hen that's easy, although possibly expensive to prove. If not and they are genuinely correcting a past map error then I worry I'll be up against some ancient law that says they're the crown and I have no recourse.
Another two properties are affected so I'll be putting notes through their doors. I do need specialist legal advice though so appreciate any leads.
No one has been in my garden so I don't know what survey data they are using. I've emailed and asked for a conversation.
If they are wrong about the change hen that's easy, although possibly expensive to prove. If not and they are genuinely correcting a past map error then I worry I'll be up against some ancient law that says they're the crown and I have no recourse.
Another two properties are affected so I'll be putting notes through their doors. I do need specialist legal advice though so appreciate any leads.
No garden access required. EA will be aligning their old maps with potentially newer ordnance survey maps as well as incorporating CCTV inspection data which can be done without accessing your property. I.e. from nearest manholes.
Ask for their inspection data and the reasons for the change. Simple as that. They won't be making it up as it would be far easier for them to just do nothing. It could be wrong though so worth a simple FOI challenge.
Ask for their inspection data and the reasons for the change. Simple as that. They won't be making it up as it would be far easier for them to just do nothing. It could be wrong though so worth a simple FOI challenge.
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