In our last blog post we covered the issues of access and encroachment and the importance of ensuring your land is not used in any unauthorised way. Here we take a look at land maintenance and steps you can take to protect your unused land. Keeping a site in the best possible condition will improve its chance of a quick and easy sell, and prevent your planning application being affected by ecological issues taking hold. Failing to take appropriate precautionary steps against certain factors can cause lengthy delays and in some cases even remove the chance of having planning permission granted altogether.
Controlling and Managing Wildlife
It’s all too easy for an unused piece of land to go unattended. However upkeep and regular site maintenance is very important to ensure plant life and wildlife and are kept under control. To avoid issues which could affect planning applications trees should not be allowed to take hold and grass should not be allowed to grow long. If vegetation is allowed to go wild there is a risk of cultivating an ideal environment for protected species such as badgers, slow worms and newts. Having these or any other protected species take up residence at your site would cause significant delays to planning applications so always take the correct measures to protect you land.
Prevent Fly-Tipping
Fly-tipping can be an irritating and potentially costly problem on unused sites. Ensure that your land is gated and locked and if possible block any entrances to prevent vehicles entering and parking. If you are at high risk you may consider installing security precautions, such as CCTV and obvious signage, along land perimeters. Introducing yourself to neighbors and close-by businesses means there will be ‘extra eyes’on your land to look out for any suspicious activity. If you do find your land is a victim of fly-tipping, do not move the rubbish onto the roadside, as you will then be fly-tipping yourself. This is a criminal offence and you could be fined up to £50,000. Contact your local council, as they may be able to help with the removal of waste and report the incident to the non-emergency police. Make sure you are insured against fly-tipping so that if it does happen, some of the clean-up costs are covered.
Read our last blog post for further information on how to protect your land before development. If you would like advice relating to your site our experts at Land Market are on hand to take your call, get in touch today.
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