I am writing regarding the green space that backs on to Kitwood Drive and Hambledon Close in Lower Earley.

I am extremely disappointed to note that a parcel of this land appears to have been annexed, hedged, and fenced off from the general public. It seems to have been adopted by the owner of 12 Hambledon Close. The land has been cleared and I believe at least one tree has been felled. I assume the owner of 12 Hambledon Close has arbitrarily extended the boundary of their property and presently you are unaware of this situation. If, however, the Council agreed to a sale or change of ownership of this land please could you provide me with the details of the Public Notice, the Planning details, and Council Minutes where discussion and approval took place.

The public have a right of way to cross this land. The hedge and newly installed black wrought iron fence are now preventing access. Please could you investigate this matter and arrange to return this land back to its original purpose as a matter of some urgency.

A dangerous precedent has been set. If no action is taken what is to stop other property owners adjacent to the land following suit and claiming a patch of land? This area is used and enjoyed by many families in the area. It is imperative biodiverse green space is protected within the community providing a sanctuary for wildlife. I fear the ecosystem has already been damaged by this land grab.

1. I presume Land Registry notified the Council, (formerly the registered proprietor of the land), regarding the adverse possession?
Yes, the land registry notified the Council of the application for adverse possession and included a copy of that application.

2. Why didn't the Council object or serve a counter-notice?
The application came in centrally to the Councils solicitors and was forwarded on to the case officer managing encroachments. It is normal practice for the Council to object to such applications, however we have been unable to find any evidence that such an objection was submitted.

3. What is the evidence of adverse possession of the land? How did the new owner demonstrate factual possession of the land?
The evidence of adverse possession is outlined in the application.

4. You comment that the Council may wish to pursue the covenant. Please could you explain why the Council would not pursue? Under what conditions?
No information held/Not a FOI/EIR request. Property have said that they will look into the above comments.

5. After several emails, I am still waiting for a reply as to how the general public are supposed to access the land. Do the public have to climb over the fence? Is there a public right of way across this land?
The planning use for the land is still as Public Open Space so we have passed this matter onto colleagues in planning enforcement to review.

6. Has the Council performed an assessment of the impact of the adverse possession on the ecosystem?
No information held. Not as far as we are aware.

7. What steps have the Council taken to protect open space in the area from future adverse possession claims?
The Council employs agents to deal with encroachments onto its land, we have also instructed the authorities solicitors to issue an objection to any adverse possession claims that are received from the land registry, as a first response.

8. Please can you send me contact details/email address for the Assets team and also provide me with all relevant emails and minutes of meetings pertaining to this adverse possession.
Irene Kearns, Estates Unit Manager
The officer that was dealing with encroachments left the employment of the Council in late 2021 and we do not have access to their emails. Property consider the relevant information and correspondence with the applicant is contained within the application (copy attached).

Please could you provide evidence of the communication between the Solicitors and the Case Officer where the application was forwarded. Also, please could you investigate why the Solicitors did not follow up with the Case Officer.
The application was received by the Legal Services support team and subsequently shared with the Council’s property solicitor on 27th January 2021. An email dated 28th January 2021 forwarded the application and supporting documents to officers within the Council’s Property Team. This email, minus the application attachments for the purpose of this reply, is attached. Once a matter is brought to a department’s attention it is for the relevant department to instruct Legal Services if they require further work to be undertaken by one of the Council’s lawyers.

For the avoidance of doubt, are you saying that the Council did not investigate whether the facts presented on the application were accurate?
An investigatory record has not been identified, so I cannot confirm whether or not the Council investigated the application including the accuracy of the facts presented.

You have failed to answer Point 4 in my email regarding whether the Council would pursue the covenant.
This is not asking for information that is held, so would not be covered under the legislation. I therefore agree with the original response sent to you. However, I have enquired further. The title at Land Registry includes a covenant which binds the land to be used as ‘open space and recreational and allotments uses and buildings ancillary thereto’. The Council is not the beneficiary of this covenant, the party that transferred the land to the Council (‘the Company’ referred to in the title’), is. As far as the Council is aware the land is still classed as open space.

You state that the council have not considered the impact of the adverse possession. Please could you explain why the Council would not do this.
Irrespective of the freehold owner the Council is of the view the subject land is still classed as open space. A planning application for the change of use of said land to garden land was refused- planning application reference 231672. https://planning.wokingham.gov.uk/FastWebPL/detail.asp?AltRef=231672&ApplicationNumber=231672&AddressPrefix=&Postcode=&KeywordSearch=&Submit=Search

Just to be clear are you saying that the Council have made changes to the process to protect open space in the area from future adverse possession claims? If so, please can I see proof /documentation of this process change.
There isn’t a policy document. I understand from the Property officers Legal Services requested this process was followed.

Please could the Estates team provide details of the value of the financial impairment of the Asset in question.
There is no information held. The land is still classed open space.

Finally, I find it hard to believe that the documents you provided are the entirety of the documents relating to this case. Please can you provide all documents, emails, notes, minutes and so on, pertaining to this case under FOI.
This matter relates to an adverse possession claim that, by definition, needs to have included in excess of 10 years use by the applicant. To search the Council’s records fully in order to answer this question would incur significant cost and resource. Key information was included in the application made to Land Registry. If you are able to narrow down the request for information as to specifically what you wish to receive and submit a further request in accordance with the appropriate procedure the Council will consider the same accordingly