Surface rights and Mineral Rights in the U.K.

[furrowedbrow]

New Archbishop of Canterbury: Justin Welby, the oil executive who heard God calling

An Eton-educated former oil company executive, the Rt Rev Justin Welby has been tipped for some time as a future head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion...

...
He became a group treasurer in a company called Enterprise Oil, before resigning in 1987 after 11 years in the industry to train for the Anglican priesthood...

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/rel...-the-oil-executive-who-heard-God-calling.html

Strange but true. Best not to mention the CoE and payday loans. You couldn't make this sh1t up!

 

[bracken basher]

Wrong. The Act Applies to Manorial, not Mineral Rights that have retained by an owner.

I would say that most of the farms in North Wales have been or still are under the control of a Manor, in most cases the mineral rights were retained when land was sold to pay death duties etc..
If mineral or sporting rights have been retained when land was sold and have not been registered with the Land Registry (was it a legal requirement before 2002?) or have not been exercised for many years can the current landowner register them in their own name?

 

[IANTO]

Are you equating large estates with Manors.

Many large estates were created in the 16th & 17th Centuries, but declined ever since.

Some of these estates may have been based on an Ancient Manor, and acquired other Manors over the years.

The records for Manors are very scant, particularly for South Wales. There are references in old deeds to Manors, but no extant records for most, that define the area covered, and what rights they had.

Anyone who wishes to search for information for their Local Area in England and Wales, can do so here.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr/searches/search.asp

Retained rights? Compulsory Registration only applies I believe on transfer by sale or inheritance. As far as land is concerned, if it is held by a Family Trust, or Limited Company, it might never be registered unless the law requires it to be registered.

If someone has the original deeds of the land, and say a copy of the transfer document, which says that certain rights are retained, my understanding is, that to disenfranchise him, you would have to prove adverse possession. That is that you had excercised those rights yourself for many years.

In the case of Mineral Rights, that would I believe mean you had mined or quarried for minerals.

For Sporting Rights you would have to demonstrate that you had been benefiting, from Renting Out the Fishing and Shooting, Hawking etc., for many years.

If you simply claimed you had shot the odd rabbit or pheasant, you mind find yourself charged with poaching, if you lost the case.

I would say that most of the farms in North Wales have been or still are under the control of a Manor, in most cases the mineral rights were retained when land was sold to pay death duties etc..
If mineral or sporting rights have been retained when land was sold and have not been registered with the Land Registry (was it a legal requirement before 2002?) or have not been exercised for many years can the current landowner register them in their own name?

 

[furrowedbrow]

Here's a short four page report produced by the Labour Research Group from the 1970's which established the distribution of land ownership "Who Owns Britain Today?".

At that time the spilt was:
19% (10M acres) Public ownership
2% Establishment Church, Monarch and Universities
32% (18M acres) Aristocratic Ownership
47% Owner occupied farms and homes

Here's a 2010 article by Country Life discussing Kevin Cahill's book "Who Owns Britain?" Amazon 2002 edition there are some good reviews which are worth a read. Link to Article.
The article makes the point that little has changed over the years, with the exception of a shift towards Corporate Estate ownership. They highlight the point that land in corporate ownership is unlikely to returning to private ownership. They also indicate that communities associated with estate management may suffer as a result of corporate ownership.

Who Owns Britain Today - List of Top Land Owners Country Life Article.

#1 Forestry Commission 2,571,270 acres (Lets hope the feekers in government keep their grubby mitts off it)
#2 The National Trust 630,000 acres
#3 Defence Estate MOD 592,800 acres
#4 The Pension Funds 550,000 acres
#5 Utility companies, Water, Electricity, Rail 500,000 acres
#6 The Crown Estate 358,000 acres
#7 RSPB 321,237 acres
#8 The Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry 240,000 acres
#9 The National Trust for Scotland 192,000 acres
#10 The Duke of Atholl's trusts 145,700 acres