Swathes of Norfolk and Waveney land has mystery owners, map reveals

Do you work and live on land whose owners are a mystery?

In Norfolk, thousands of acres of land of all types sits unregistered, with the public having no way of knowing who is its rightful owner.

An interactive map, created by developer Anna Powell-Smith, shows every inch of the 5.2 million acres of England and Wales that does not have a registered owner.

The map shows large patches of land, coloured red, around the region as unregistered, meaning every day people are working, visiting, and driving through land without a known owner.

Since 1998, land inherited or sold must be registered with the Land Registry, meaning much of the unregistered land has been owned by the same person or group for at least 20 years, potentially much longer.

Land being unregistered does not mean the land does not have an owner, however it is much harder for the government and the public to track down who does in fact own it.

Much of the land which is marked as unregistered is owned by local authorities and national groups such as Norfolk Highways and National Rail, the church, or by large historic estates owned by the aristocracy.

Easily identifiable unregistered land on the map includes common land, owned and maintained by local councils, such as Barnham Cross Common in Thetford, the North Denes in Great Yarmouth, and the Fir Lane allotments in Lowestoft.

National Parks and nature reserves such as the Norfolk Broads and the Bure Marshes National Nature Reserve also include significant amounts of unregistered land.

Businesses such as Diss Golf Club and Bungay and Waveney Golf Club are also not registered, along with thousands of acres of farm land.

It is not illegal to have not registered land, however the Land Registry is targeting to have 100pc of all of England and Wales' land registered by 2030.