Abandoned boats in car park

[Blueboatman]

Yes that is the first point to clarify
Is it a PCC matter or local PC ?

Then the notice : please remove , this is private property , gets the clock ticking

Possibly in addition a separate notice on each hull. Does anyone know the owner?

There might be a nominal value to a scrappy in the yacht ballast keels and steel yacht trailer , the rest of it is a bin job sadly

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Yes that is the first point to clarify
Is it a PCC matter or local PC ?

Then the notice : please remove , this is private property , gets the clock ticking

Possibly in addition a separate notice on each hull. Does anyone know the owner?

There might be a nominal value to a scrappy in the yacht ballast keels and steel yacht trailer , the rest of it is a bin job sadly

As I pointed out earlier, it's also the case that church-owned land may come under different regulations to those applying to civil-owned land. You may well find that the Churchwardens have surprising powers (Churchwardens are one of the few people who have the power of arrest, under very specific circumstances)! However, not all land owned by the church comes under ecclesiastical regulations, and a church hall may or may not do so.

Who knows - there could be legislation covering the abandonment of boats on church property dating back to Viking raids! The Office of Churchwarden is almost that old

I have been a churchwarden and am a Licenced Lay Minister; I've also been on PCCs for more years than I care to remember (well over 40!)

 

[westernman]

The RYA have written guidance on how to legally dispose of abandoned veseels. (Now hidden behind the club support section of their website)

You have to take multiple steps to find the owner, if you can't then get multiple quotes, sell it, and keep the funds in escrow for the owner. Expect it to take 6 months or so.

After deduction of a reasonable fee for parking.
E.g. 5 pounds per day.

 

[ylop]

I think I would be trying to persuade the local authority that as they are on road trailers they are in fact “abandoned vehicles” and their responsibility:

Abandoned vehicles: local authority responsibilities

Their obligation stems from:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/183/pdfs/uksi_19860183_en.pdf

which inherits it’s definition of vehicle from:

Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 which specifically INCLUDES trailers.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I think I would be trying to persuade the local authority that as they are on road trailers they are in fact “abandoned vehicles” and their responsibility:

Abandoned vehicles: local authority responsibilities

Their obligation stems from:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/183/pdfs/uksi_19860183_en.pdf

which inherits it’s definition of vehicle from:

Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 which specifically INCLUDES trailers.

The Refuse Disposal Act may state that, but the act in the second link specifically states that it refers to MOTOR vehicles.

 

[Bobc]

Why not just drag them onto the road and then let it be the council's problem.

 

[ylop]

The Refuse Disposal Act may state that, but the act in the second link specifically states that it refers to MOTOR vehicles.

The regulations (second link) say Vehicle is as defined by the 1974 Act (3rd link), the 1974 Act says Motor Vehicle includes trailers designed to be attached to motor vehicles.

 

[ylop]

Why not just drag them onto the road and then let it be the council's problem.

Because then you will have committed the offence of abandoning them and be liable for the fine! Better to make it the local authority’s problem from the start.

 

[Bobc]

Because then you will have committed the offence of abandoning them and be liable for the fine! Better to make it the local authority’s problem from the start.

Presumably then, if it's on private land without authorisation to be there, you can dispose of them.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Presumably then, if it's on private land without authorisation to be there, you can dispose of them.

Perhaps they were a donation

 

[ylop]

Presumably then, if it's on private land without authorisation to be there, you can dispose of them.

That’s not quite how the law works. Hence why it’s the local authority’s obligation to remove and dispose of them with formal processes to follow. It’s likely that if they are truely abandoned nobody cares if you dispose of them responsibly, but if you dispose of a boat then two months later the owner rocks up you could end up in quite a mess, or given the costs of disposing of old fibreglass boats you could end up paying someone to take them away. There is an established process and responsibility for this, no doubt hard pressed local authorities will try to shirk their responsibilities but I’ve provided the legislation so anyone who wishes can study it then go see their councillor to get it sorted.

 

[benjenbav]

So there are these two boats that have been left - maybe abandoned - in the church hall car park:
View attachment 146618View attachment 146619
They've been there over a year. The owner(s) never asked permission and haven't made themselves known to the Parish Church Council, who own the car park. Facebook posts haven't produced any responses.

So what steps can the PCC take to get rid of them? Post a notice on them, put an ad in the press, and then put them on eBay in 3 month's time? (Not that the trailers are roadworthy!) But is that legal?

PS. The yacht could possibly be an Achilles - triple keel, but seems less that 24'.

If you Google “involuntary bailment of goods” you will find quite a lot of useful stuff. Go carefully and make sure you can prove (pix) what is there before disposing of anything, if that’s what you decide to do. It’s not unknown to get a subsequent claim that there was a priceless Rembrandt hidden in the midst of any disposed-of items.

 

[mjcoon]

Perhaps they were a donation

Modern White Elephant...

 

[Aussie farmer]

Sell them scrap them, if anyone ever claims them , charge them for illegal dumping or unpaid storage fees, the church will win.

Best thing would be build a kids pirate playground out of them on church grounds.

 

[fisherman]

Our Council website has a page dedicated to litter left on private property. This includes abandoned vehicles.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

If no one has visited them for a year they are effectively abandoned. The yacht is clearly dumped and the motorboat maybe just stored illicitly.

However notice put on boat getting clock ticking giving drop dead date, then sell motorboat, charge suitable fee for storage and put remainder safe for maybe 12 months. Unlikely to be any hidden Rembrant in the scuppers, nor diamond rings, as people dont leave such stuff unattended in church car parks

Its the disposal of the yacht that will cost, and possibly nothing you can do about that unless you cart it off and semi dump it in some field. Unless the council agree to help in the disposal

 

[westernman]

Its the disposal of the yacht that will cost, and possibly nothing you can do about that unless you cart it off and semi dump it in some field. Unless the council agree to help in the disposal

Try ebay (auction starting at 1 pound) before paying some one to take it away.
A yacht and trailer for just 1 pound - some one will bite.

 

[Stemar]

Try ebay (auction starting at 1 pound) before paying some one to take it away.
A yacht and trailer for just 1 pound - some one will bite.

That has the advantage that you can prove you got the best possible price, which is, I understand, important if an owner does crawl out of the woodwork.

 

[westernman]

That has the advantage that you can prove you got the best possible price, which is, I understand, important if an owner does crawl out of the woodwork.

Absolutely.

You will also know or have noticed that all police seizures are always auctioned off for exactly the same reason.
In Switzerland, some British guy had his car seized for seriously speeding (like 250kmh or something) and he bought his own car back at auction for the equivalent of 80K pounds. (A Ferrari something or the other).

 

[Frogmogman]

You could always call extinction rebellion and see if they’d like them…..