Asset Management

If you wish to access or cross over Council-owned land to reach your adjoining property you will require specific permission from the Council to do so. 
This type of access is managed via the provision of a licence agreement, which will have a specific set of terms and conditions. Examples of when you may require such an agreement are:

Crossing Council-owned land with a motor vehicle to access garages or parking spaces at the rear of your premises.

Pedestrian access over Council owned land to a specific access point on your boundary e.g.  from a gate on your boundary line onto a Council-owned open space.

Temporary access for a range of activities such as:

• Tree work either on trees in your property or on adjoining Council-owned land which can be either only be completed by taking access to Council-owned land or can be completed more efficiently and/or effectively by doing so. (NB – the licence document would only provide permission for the access element of this work; Further discussion may be required with our Parks & Green Spaces team if the proposed works involve any council-owned trees.
• Work to boundaries that requires access onto Council-owned land.
• Erection of scaffolding or other access equipment on Council-owned land to facilitate works on an adjoining property

Please note all licences are personal and not transferable.

If you are selling your property, please let the Council know so that your licence can be terminated. You should advise your solicitor of an existing licence so that they can inform the purchaser. The new owner will be required to apply for a new licence if they also require access. The same applies to leased properties, the new tenant would need to apply for a new licence.

Fees

Licence agreements are subject to both an initial one-off set-up fee payable at the start of an agreement and an annual fee. 

Setup Fees

The below table sets out the Surveyor Fees that are incurred in setting up a new agreement. This table shows the minimum fee payable, more complex matters will attract additional fees and you will be advised if this is the case.

NB: This table provides the minimum chargeable fee. For more complex matters additional fees will be charged. You will be advised if this is the case in advance of any matters being progressed.

Any Licence which is documented as a formal legal agreement will attract legal fees in addition to the charges above. The surveyor dealing with the matter will obtain an estimate of these fees for you and advise before any matters are progressed. 

Licence Fee

Licence agreements that run from year to year (e.g. licences to cross or park) are subject to an annual fee.

The current minimum annual fee is £200.

The annual fee is subject to review and you where there is any change you will be given at least 1 months’ notice.

Temporary licences (e.g. for scaffold or similar access) also attract a fee and these are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Calculations are usually based on a weekly fee.

Termination of Licence Agreements

If you wish to terminate your licence we require written confirmation from the licence holder. Please email estates@stalbans.gov.uk.

Licence Applications

To apply for a licence please email estates@stalbans.gov.uk  with full details of your request including: 

1. Name of applicant
2. Location of land

3. Nature and duration of works (if applicable)
    

   NB: For licences involving works, requests for the relevant risk assessments, method statements and insurance information will be required. 

Licences to Cross Council Land - FAQs
 

This document list all of sites and assets that full under the CNC Committee

• CNC Asset Register Sept 24 ( vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet - 14.07 KB )

This is the process by which qualifying groups can apply to the Council to have Council-owned assets devolved to them for the day-to-day running and future investment.

Additional guidance on this can be found here.

If you wish to use one of our parks or green spaces for personal training or to run fitness sessions on a commercial basis, even on a one-on-one basis, you must be licensed by the Council.

This opportunity is open to a range of businesses that provide a diverse range of services. Some of the services that we feel would benefit the parks and green spaces are listed below. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are unsure whether your activity would be of interest to the Council, please email our team at the address provided below.

• Fitness/Sport Sessions including Personal Training, Group Fitness Classes and Group Team Sport Sessions. 
• Mindfulness and Meditation Sessions
• Animal Care and Training
• Food and Drink Sales
• Art and Creative Classes
• Live Music
• Educational Activities and Session

We issue licences to ensure that:

• The parks are protected
• All visitors have access to and use of public open spaces
• Everyone can enjoy and benefit from various forms of fitness training in public spaces
• Fitness operators have appropriate qualifications (based on industry best practice) and are fully insured and hold liability for participants' safety
• To ensure activities do not conflict with the operation of park or cause a nuisance

If you would like to apply for a licence please click the link below.

Licenced Park Activities - More Information 

Unfortunately the Council are not in a position to progress new requests to purchase land at the current time. This also means that requests that are at the initial stages of consideration and assessment are being placed on hold for now.

When we are in position to take such requests forward again details will be posted here.

Open spaces are managed by our Green Spaces department, to report any problem with open spaces please provide details using the following service: Grounds Maintenance.

It is common that former Council-owned properties will contain restrictive covenants in their transfer, agreed at the time of sale, which are used to protect the remainder of the Council-owned housing in the area.

Common restrictive covenants that were agreed are:

1. Restriction of single-dwelling to be erected on transferred land
2. Requirement to obtain permission for alterations to existing building and/or erection of buildings in garden areas
3. Requirement to obtain permission to undertake tree-work on existing trees on transferred land.

You will be able to find the details of any restriction covenants in your title documents, if you require any assistance in understanding these documents you will need to discuss with your own legal advisor as the Council are unable to assist in this area.

If you would like to discuss the potential for releasing any restrictive covenants further please e-mail:estates@stalbans.gov.uk with as much detail as possible. You will then be advised on each matter further.