Future of Parish-Owned Land at Wood Lane, Seale
Seale & Sands Parish Council is seeking the views of all parish residents on the future of a parcel of parish-owned land at Wood Lane, Seale, marked RED in the map below. The land is 241 sq m / 2594 sq ft / 0.06 acre approximately and to put the size into context it is just under the size of a tennis court.
The above map shows Parish Council owned land at Wood Lane, marked in RED in relation to its neighbouring property.
The above map shows the Wood Lane land in relation to other Parish Council owned land: Seale Recreation Ground and The Sands Recreation Ground. Both recreation grounds include a football pitch and children’s play area. Seale recreation ground includes a sports pavilion and paved parking area.
Background:
Guildford Rural District Council (now known as Guildford Borough Council) purchased a larger parcel of land, which includes our land, from Hampton Estate in1951 for council housing development at what is now known as Manor Fields, at the junction of Elstead Road, Seale Lane and Wood Lane in Seale. Our parcel of land was never developed by Guildford Borough Council and today it is within Seale’s conservation area.
In 2005 Guildford Borough Council offered the undeveloped land back to Hampton Estate, who accepted the offer, however records showing what then happened are not available and the transfer was never effected.
In 2008 Guildford Borough Council offered the land to the Parish Council who accepted the offer and transfer was effected the same year. No formal easement (agreement for access over our land) was agreed with Hampton Estate at the time and to date. Since that time no public access has been granted by the Parish Council and the land remains as a grassed area with the removal of a hawthorn tree implicated in an insurance claim at No1 Manor Fields being the only work done to the land by the Council.
Our land borders No1 & No2 Manor Fields to its west and a larger parcel of open field land to its east and Wood Lane to its south. Boundary fencing is provided by No1 & No2 Manor Fields and post and rail fencing on Wood Lane with a 5 bar gate on the Wood Lane boundary adjacent to No1 Manor Fields. No fencing separates this parcel of land from Hampton Estate land and remains part of an open field, informally used by Hampton Estate for sheep grazing. A drainage ditch runs along and outside of the southern boundary.
During the Council’s ownership, Hampton Estate have used our land to access theirs and recently this has included access for car-parking on their land during private events at the church. The Council received complaints from residents when these recent events occurred. Because no easement exists between the Council and Hampton Estate the Council asked the Estate to complete a standard Council Hire Agreement in order to formalise the use of our land for the most recent event in June 2024.
In October 2024 Hampton Estate made a request to the Council to hand back the land under Crichel Down Rules. These rules suggest that where land has been purchased compulsorily and not used it should be offered back to the original owner before disposal by other means. ‘Hand back’ in this instance means that a price would be agreed between both parties and not for ‘no consideration’. After seeking legal advice and considering all material facts the Council resolved not to hand back the land under Crichel Down Rules citing that the rules no longer applied.
During the investigations for determining the Estate’s request, the Land Registry TR1document was found and current members of the Council were able to appraise it for the first time and discovered restrictive covenants placed on the land by GBC when they transferred the land to the Council, as shown below:
Restrictive covenants by the Transferee
A. The Transferees to the intent that this covenant may so far as possible bind all persons who are now or hereafter shall become entitled to any part of the Property hereby jointly and severally covenant with the Transferor and it's successors in title pursuant to Section 33 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 for the protection and benefit of the Land that they and the persons deriving title under the Transferees will henceforth duly perform and observe the covenants conditions and stipulations referred to in Paragraph B hereof
B. (1) Not to use the Property for any other purpose than for open space purposes only and for no other purpose whatsoever
(2) not to erect or construct any wall fence hedge or other boundary demarcation or any building extension shed outhouse board or hoarding or any other structure of any kind whether temporary or permanent on the Property or any part thereof
(3) Not to do or permit or suffer to be done anything in on or upon the Property which in the opinion of the Transferor may be or become a nuisance source of annoyance or damage to the Transferor or to the owners or occupiers of adjoining or neighbouring property
(4) Not to use the Property for any trade or business or affix thereto any advertisement or notice
(5) Not to park any mechanically propelled vehicle caravan trailer or boat on the Property
In light of the covenants the Council is obliged to make the land safe and accessible to the public. In order to do this the Council will be required to carry out numerous activities including arranging easement, engagement of a surveyor, achieve required planning permissions, install protection from Hampton Estate land ie. post and rail style fencing with stock fencing with 5 bar gate access, install pedestrian access gate off Wood Lane, carry out works to create walkway and install handrail and barrier from drainage ditch for pedestrian access gate, carry out grounds maintenance of land and access way off Wood Lane to make good, arrange contract for waste bin and ongoing emptying by GBC, install required signage (similar to our other recreation grounds). Consideration will be given to how we can provide safe use of the land and retain access for Estate traffic to their land.
The Parish Council is considering two options:
Retain the land for public use
OR
Dispose of the land via sale
If the land is to be retained, we are asking for your views on how it could be used. If the land is to be disposed of by sale, the Council will do so in compliance with Section 127 of the Local Government Act 1972, and any other relevant legislation and guidance, with proceeds (after costs) ring-fenced for community benefit.
The Council is committed to ensuring any decision takes into account both its legal responsibilities and the views of the local community. This consultation is being launched to help inform our decision-making. Whilst all feedback will be carefully considered, the final decision will rest with the Council. This consultation is therefore non-binding and intended to gather views rather than determine outcomes.
The Council will not make any final decision until after the consultation has concluded. Suggestions made for retained use will be reviewed in light of the existing restrictive covenants.
The consultation closes on 15th August 2025.
Have Your Say - We encourage all residents (electors in seale & sands) to take a few moments to complete the short survey below — your views will help shape the Council’s understanding of community priorities.
Your name and address are requested to help validate responses. Anonymous submissions will not be considered. Your personal details will be used solely for the purposes of this consultation and will not be shared with third parties. Anonymised data may be included in the published results. For more information on how we handle your data, please refer to our Privacy Notice.
If you have a neighbour who doesn’t have internet access, please consider printing the PDF linked here so they can read the notes offline. They can complete the survey at the end of the document and return it by post to:
Seale & Sands Parish Council
c/o The Sands Room
The Green
The Sands
Farnham
GU10 1LL
Alternatively, they can drop it into the post box at the same address.
Postal / hand delivered submissions must be received by the closing date.