Debbie Clancy, Councillor for Northfield Ward on the issue of "No Mans Land"
The term "No Mans Land" is becoming a regular term used in responses from Officers' when referring to land, usually small alleyways etc that appear to have no identity. Many councillors who attend on site visits with Officers, usually from Amey may have regularly seen an Officers' iPad displaying a map on screen about the area in question. The map in usual colours of pale greens, pinks, and white patches can now reveal in an instant the ownership of a particular space. But what do we do as councillors with the "No Mans Land" quote. Land Registry? Well that's if the resident is willing to pay for it, albeit probably around £9.00 but even so, a cost residents most likely assume the Council should pay to establish the rightful owner and even then there may be difficulties. Lets suppose the alleyway belongs to someone but they've never actually registered the space with the Land Registry. So what now, well not many of us know and these duplicated queries can often be put to the bottom of priorities until the topic rears its head again quicker than the nettles. Residents are either left to hack their way through, depending on tools they retrieve from their sheds, or feeling exasperated leave the matter until Winter subsides and Summer months ensue when inevitably access in the alleyway is required. In the meantime "No Mans Land" mostly overgrown alleyways... unloved, unknown remains Tarzan territory.