These Tips will Help you to Protect your Land

If you own a plot of land, it’s so important that you take steps to try to protect it. If you don’t, then you may find that you end up struggling with situations as time goes on, but believe it or not, it’s more than possible for you to turn things around.

Managing Right of Way

The first thing you need to do is try to protect the right of way. If you have a plot of land that has a public footpath or if you have a byway, then this may create tension. You may find that you have to manage your machinery as well as public access rights. This can be stressful, but there are things you can do to make things a little easier. Permissive paths allow you to divert your official route to somewhere else. If you can apply for an agreement with the local authority, then this will help you to protect your wider interests, and it will also allow you to make more efficient use of your land, which is great. Warning signs include putting up factual and polite signs that tell people what is happening, such as when there is a harvest in process, or when you feel as though there is a lot of machinery on site. Having a chat with your solicitor is wise here, as they can work with you about temporary risk mitigation, which may be required.

Protecting Machinery

If you have large combines, a tractor, or something else that is often in use, then it makes sense for you to try to protect this. You may also need to make sure that any machinery that crosses public paths does so legally, with a lot of effort put into avoiding injury. If you are working in areas where the public may wander, then you need to think about fencing them off or using signs so you can direct people away from danger. If you can do this, then you will find it easier to not only get the result you need but also to make sure that you are protected as much as possible.

Protecting your Land

It’s not just your machinery that you need to protect, as you also need to take steps to protect your land. Working with legal advocates for your land is one of the best things you can do, as it means you’re not going to lose your land to things like development or anything else of the sort. If you can consider things like this, then it will help you to not only get the level of protection you deserve, but also make sure that you’re not struggling to maintain your legal rights.

Dogs and Livestock

If you have a plot of land, then you may also have livestock, which makes dogs a bit of an issue. Dogs that are walking on rights of way can cause issues during harvest, and if you have dogs off-leash, then this can cause issues for you if they happen to disturb livestock. If you are a farmer, then you can insist that dogs stay on leads, and you can also make sure that they do not stray from the official route. Dogs that are running off can also open the door to you making a civil claim or a nuisance claim, which can help you a lot.

Fly Tipping

Owning land isn’t just about protecting your livestock and your land; it’s also about maintaining its appeal. During harvest season, you may notice even more people fly-tipping. You may also find that you are at risk of having unauthorized gatherings, as well as people using your land when they shouldn’t be. If you want to help yourself here, then you need to try to report any instances of fly-tipping to your local environmental agency. If you have a repeat trespasser or if you have groups who access your land illegally, such as people who are trying to camp, then you may find that you can use the law to your advantage here. You can seek a formal notice, or you can seek an injunction.

Planning Ahead

Planning is also wise. If you want to prevent the creation of new rights and if you want to protect your land in the future, then you may want to try to submit a landowner statement as well as take the time to review your access maps. Now would be a good time for you to try to challenge any unrecorded or inaccurately used paths as well. Of course, if you can seek legal advice on things like the existing rights of way, then this will also help. If you can do this, then you will be able to make sure that your land is not just protected for now, but also in the future. 

Of course, if you feel as though you would like to build on the land in the future, then this is great as well, but at the same time, it does help to make sure that you’re not overlooking the steps required to get this done. You need to make sure that you are taking the time to not only make sure that your land is suitable to build on, but that you are not going to lose the rights to it as time goes on. If you can keep things like this in consideration, then you will find it much easier to make sure that you’re not only feeling confident in the land you have, but that you are also making sure that you’re able to push ahead with whatever plans you might have.

If you want some more advice, seeking legal guidance is one of the best things you can do, so make sure that you keep that in mind and that you also take the time to find out what land you own, whether it’s entirely yours, and what your rights are with it, so you can protect them as you move forward.