Whose lane is it anyway?

[misterhelpful]

Hi guys, hope I'm posting in the right section!

There is a small alleyway between the rears of two rows of terraced houses where I live which is in a pretty bad state and dangerous at night and in bad weather.
I have contacted the Council to find out why it wasn't resurfaced before Christmas when every other lane in the area was. To my surprise, I was informed this morning that it is not owned by the Council and therefore must be privately owned. The Inspector from the Highways Department was just as surprised as me and is going to try and find out who owns the lane and will get back to me but told me that it is definitely not the reponsibility of his department. He also said that in the meantime I could try and find out via the Land Registery who it belongs to. This is where I'm struggling.

I can apparently pay £3 to find out but don't know where to start looking. Being a lane/alleyway, it doesn't have an address as such and so trying to find the right section to search in is beyond my intelligence (or patience, if you prefer)!

Can anyone here give advice on where to look or if there are any other means of finding out please?

Cheers,
mrH

 

[jeds]

Phone land reg. Give them your property address and ask them to look at the strip of land behind. They are normally very helpful. You should also check your own property detail to see if the lane or any rights of way are mentioned.

 

[misterhelpful]

Phone land reg. Give them your property address and ask them to look at the strip of land behind. They are normally very helpful. You should also check your own property detail to see if the lane or any rights of way are mentioned.

Hmm, didn't think about the phone - I seem to do everything online these days so will have to try remember how it works!!

The house deeds just say 'Access Lane' but no details of who owns it.

I'm starting to think it may be owned by the Local Water Authority because all of the properties' drains run out to the alleyway, so the mains must then run beneath it. There are no manholes in the alleyway but there is one in the wider lane that runs perpendicular to it, just beyond where they both meet. The Council do own, or are at least responsible for, that lane and have resurfaced it.

Cheers,
mrH

 

[jeds]

As I say, land reg are usually helpful. Of course it may not be registered. In which case it will be difficult to track down.