City Woodlands

[renewablejohn]

Anybody have experience of owning a woodland in a town or city. A mature woodland has come up for sale in the local town which I am tempted to buy its just that the location could easily be used by drug addicts, prostitutes etc.

 

Am I being paranoid.

[Mesterh]

Depends, is it being used for those purposes atm/

 

Make sure you check out what you have to do in order to maintain it if it has public access.

 

Dean can inform you about it

[renewablejohn]

Depends, is it being used for those purposes atm/

 

Make sure you check out what you have to do in order to maintain it if it has public access.

 

Dean can inform you about it

 

The wood backs on to a council park which does have those problems and the public have a right of way through it being next to a busy main road.

[Dean Lofthouse]

I would really look into it if it has public access because this will cause you no end of problems.

 

You will have to keep records of tree maintainance and have insurance, signage etc.

 

A freind of mine owns a woodland with public access and house gardens bordering it all round, it's a total nightmare with residents constantly asking him to maintain trees/ cut down trees or remove overhanging branches etc.

 

I would only consider it if the access was to one side and you could fence it off, the last thing you want is people wandering all over the wood

[Stephen Blair]

i would look into insurance first mate, if there is public access, it can be fortunes. but i think the correct signs can make a difference. and dont invite folk ie benches, picnic tables

[nuggsy]

deer fence round the lot and a big fancy gate lol

[ging]

this seems crazy, ive only been living in scotland for a year and the i'm well sucked into the idea that people should be able to go where they want. I got asked to leave a piece of land while i was in Englandshire collecting samples for a project. The cheek of it, the land happened to be a spot of old quarry that i had played in since the year dot, now some chaps bought it and i got asked not to go there. psshhhh. I'll say no more, apparantly the owner is an arb and he might be here. in ways relating to the actual thread. yeah sounds like a ball ache to own woodland in said situation, but i have no experience in the field so what my opinion is worth is up to you.

[Catweazle]

Apart from the insurance and maintenance issues you will also have the annoyance factors where Joe Public has access;

 

People will drop litter, light fires against your trees, hang little bags of dogpoo on branches by the path (?), pick or dig up your bluebells primroses and wild daffs, carve up the paths with mountain or motor bikes, try out their new penknives by cutting long lines or rude words into your trees, have parties and leave dozens of empty beercans behind, use it as a gay meeting place, use it as a toilet, steal anything you leave there overnight, visit with air-rifles and shoot anything that sings, poach rabbits, dump their building rubbish, set snares, set up improvised bondage equipment between close trees (!) and much more besides.

 

I've had all these problems in a wood with no public footpaths, thankfully now cured by the simple addition of signs and a few strategically placed fences and deadhedges.

[Bundle 2]

Dean said: "it's a total nightmare with residents constantly asking him to maintain trees/ cut down trees or remove overhanging branches etc...."

 

B2- a bit like being an arb then!

 

Catweazle said:"...thankfully now cured by the simple addition of signs and a few strategically placed fences....

 

B2- Doesnt sound as if the solution was of particularly disproportionate effort or expense from this frankly!

 

You may find info of value here.....

 

Public Liability insurance for tree owners

 

Good luck bro.

[MattyF]

I would not touch it in a million years personally for the reasons stated and a few more...people are arses and the worst sort are the ones who walk there dogs through a wood every day and ther think they own it and feel it is there duty to cause as much grief if work needs doing why are you doing it ect,"save the trees man"

The commision is selling off a lot of land at the momment in far nicer places....