SpanglefishGreenbelt Group Action | sitemap | log in
This is a free Spanglefish 1 website.

 

UNHAPPY WITH GREENBELT GROUP'S PERFORMANCE?  PLEASE TAKE TIME TO SHARE YOUR VIEWS ON TRUSTPILOT... GREENBELT'S ROBO-REBUTALS ARE WORTH LOGGING IN FOR THE LAUGH ALONE!  MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE IS WHEN THEY SARCASTICALLY THANK SOMEONE FOR LEAVING THEM ONE STAR - SHOWS THE MENTALITY OF THIS COMPANY AND THE PEOPLE WHO OWN/RUN IT.

Newsflash... A TOTAL OF SIX ESTATES THAT WE KNOW OF IN SCOTLAND HAVE HAD THE LAND MAINTENANCE BURDENS IN THEIR TITLE DEEDS DECLARED INVALID BY REGISTERS OF SCOTLAND IN RECENT MONTHS, BASED ON THE OUTCOME OF THE TEST CASE... FOR A PERIOD OF MONTHS IN 2017, THE KEEPER OF THE REGISTERS OF SCOTLAND WAS ROUTINELY REMOVING MAINTENANCE BURDENS FROM TITLE DEEDS, THEN, AS FAR AS WE KNOW, GREENBELT GROUP THREATENED LEGAL ACTION AND THE KEEPER APPEARED TO CHANGE HER MIND... WATCH THIS SPACE... THE KEEPER, AN EXPERT IN THESE MATTERS, MUST HAVE THOUGHT SHE WAS IN THE RIGHT AT ONE POINT... WE SUSPECT SHE WAS AND THAT SHE'S MERELY LOST HER NERVE... 

We recommend that every homeowner in Scotland with Greenbelt Group burdens in their title deeds continues to write to the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland with the following request... WHO KNOWS WHEN THE KEEPER MIGHT SUDDENLY CHANGE HER MIND AGAIN!

"I believe my deeds are unenforceable based on the outcomes in the Marriott v Greenbelt Group Ltd case in the Lands Tribunal for Scotland (LTS/TC/2014/27, 2 December 2015) and am wondering if I could request that the burdens in my deeds are rectified accordingly."  

Simply supply your, name, address, the number on the front of your deeds (and ideally the paragraph numbers of the sections in your title deeds that mention land maintenance) and fill out the contact form on the Registers of Scotland website (use the general enquiry drop down tab).  There is no charge for this service.  If you have any questions about the impact of this, we would advise you to speak to your solicitor.

THE ONLY SURE-FIRE WAY OF GETTING THE MAINTENANCE BURDENS IN YOUR TITLE DEEDS REMOVED IS TO APPLY TO HAVE THEM REMOVED BY THE LANDS TRIBUNAL FOR SCOTLAND - IF YOU'RE THINKING OF DOING THIS, CONTACT BALFOUR MANSON SOLICITORS IN EDINBURGH TO DISCUSS.

For up-to-the-minute news on this and other Greenbelt Group-related issues, Hop onto HorNet - the Home Owners Rights Network and ask to join the Facebook page.  The group is close to launching a test case set to help homeowners across the UK trapped in Greenbelt Group-style arrangements.  A group of homeowners called Unhappy Greenbelt Group Customers based in England is also planning a test case against Greenbelt Group.  Again, you can apply to join this group on Facebook.  

Want to see who you're paying your money to?  Meet CEO and major shareholder of Greenbelt Group Alex Middleton...

Newsflash...  Is Greenbelt Group taking you to court at the moment?  If so, please get in touch with HorNet - Homeowners Rights Network - a group of homeowners across the UK which is running a fantastic campaign to tackle unfair service charges and other issues on modern estates... the Facebook page is full of other people in the same shoes who are working together to build their defences and share information on the company.  For example, one homeower has found that most home insurance policies cover you for legal costs for fighitng these kinds of disputes - and a Scottish homeowner has reported that he used the test case as his defence in court - it took three minutes between mentioning the test case and Greenbelt Group's solicitor throwing in the towel.

Another homeowner found this document online, which may be of use to English and Welsh homeowners thinking of questioning the enforceability of their burdens in ordinary courts of law.  

Calling all homeowners in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales still caught in the land-owning land maintenance trap... Home Owners Rights Network (HorNet) is asking for you to take a few moments to fill out their online survey... 

As you'll see if you join the group's Facebook page or forum, there's talk of an English / Welsh test case brewing based on the learnings from the Scottish test case... we recommend highly that you hook up with them... 

A good summary of the Scottish test case, along with comments from homeowners unhappy with Greenbelt Group, can be found here.

A Scottish local authority has recently taken enforcement action against Greenbelt for failing to maintain land around an estate to standards outlined in the original planning permissions.  More information is available here.

...............................................

This website was set up in 2007 by a group of homeowners in Scotland who have worked hard to:

  • understand the nature of land owning land maintenance companies such as Greenbelt Group - or Greenbelt as it now calls itself - Hazelvine, Scottish Woodlands, Ethical Maintenance, Meadfleet and developers themselves e.g. Taylor Wimpey 
  • highlight the problems caused by these companies and campaign for change
  • push for changes in legislation and public policy.

​Over the years we’ve:

  • corresponded with homeowners on hundreds of estates across the UK
  • given evidence at Parliamentary committees in Holyrood and Westminster
  • met with and lobbied Government Ministers in Scotland
  • acted as consultees on Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011
  • worked with the OFT and Consumer Focus Scotland on a number of official reports
  • given numerous TV and media interviews
  • secured a number of legal opinions

What we learned through our work with Governments and consumer protection bodies was that no-one was going to help us, and with this in mind, in 2015 we launched a test case in The Lands Tribunal for Scotland in a bid to find out where we stood in law. The case was funded by homeowners from across the UK.  The need for a test case was supported by Consumer Focus Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Due to the fact that we're been running the campaign for nearly a decade and are now free of Greenbelt, we will not be campaigning further.  If you want to take the campaign forward, we suggest that you do what we did and set up a free Spanglefish website (very easy to do) or Facebook page, and others in the same situation will soon be in touch! Alternatively do join forces with the HorNet - Homeowners Rights Network mentioned above, which has a lively Facebook page, a public forum and an excellent understand of the issues surrounding land-owning land maintenance companies.

What we would say in closing is that this campaign has never been about the height of the weeds, but the fairness and legality of these arrangements.  We wish everyone reading this site good luck in finding solutions in their own community and hope that others will take up the campaign where we left off.

Most of the content on this website was last updated in September, 2016 - the information may now be out of date. 

Save

Save

Save

SaveSave

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Click for MapSSPC - Property in Scotland
sitemap | cookie policy | privacy policy