We live in a house built in 1981. At the back is a paved area which, I was told by a council official, used to provide parking for visitors to two neighbours who both had disabilities. 

The two neighbours passed away some time ago and the area has been allowed to become overgrown, leading to rubbish being dumped there and other forms of anti-social behaviour to take place. 

The area has been cleared on two occasions, only after requests to the council.

My husband and I approached the council and asked to buy the plot of land, merely to extend our garden. 

Correspondence was lengthy with numerous delays on their side and we let the issue slip.

We have now found out that a neighbour of ours is 'in negotiations' to buy the bit of land. 

He has advised my husband that he wants it for general use and will not elaborate. 

He has now parked a large van at the bottom of our garden, installed an illegal sign saying parking is not allowed in the area and placed a CCTV camera above the access site to the area. 

When my husband discussed the matter with the neighbour recently, he let slip that he was aware of our interest in buying the land. 

As we did not discuss this with anyone other than family members and the council, this would appear to be a major breach of our confidentially.

We are going to contact the council and submit a Freedom of Information Act request.

Do you have any advice on any other action we can take and can we ask the council to impose any conditions, regarding use, should the sale go through?

We are concerned our neighbour will, if he buys the land, use build on it or use it for business purposes. 

Jane Denton, of This is Money, replies: It seems that the council's decision on who the land will be sold to is yet to be made. 

So, keep your own negotiations with the council open and cordial if you still want to buy the plot. 

Phone them again or try to meet them in person and ask if the site is being sold to your neighbour. 

If the site has not been sold, tell the council again about your interest in the plot and what you would use it for. 

The council must get the best price for its land, property and other assets, so it will not sell for less than market value. 

Application fees will apply and, if you are successful in the purchase of the plot, you will need to appoint a solicitor to transfer and register the title with HM Land Registry. 

I understand you are concerned about a potential confidentiality breach, but I would suggest focusing on the sale of the plot at this point. 

If your neighbour buys the plot, you won't be able to force the council to impose building and use restrictions. 

But you would be able to express your concerns to them about these issues. Your own property deeds could also give an indication if any restrictions could be imposed. 

If the CCTV is veering over to your property and intrusive raise the problem with your neighbour and, if that fails, inform the Information Commissioner's Office. 

In terms of the parking sign, just because he's decided to stick up a no parking sign doesn't make it enforceable.

Manjinder Atwal, director of housing and property litigation at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, says: This is understandably frustrating for you, particularly if you had previously expressed an interest in buying the land yourself. 

However, there are a number of practical steps you can take before assuming the matter is settled.

The first thing to establish is whether the council has formally agreed to sell the land or whether negotiations are still at an early stage. 

If no contract has been exchanged, you can still write to the council expressing your renewed interest in purchasing the site and asking for your proposal to be considered. 

Local authorities have a duty to obtain best value when disposing of public land and should be able to demonstrate that any sale has been carried out fairly and transparently.

While a Freedom of Information request may help uncover how the decision has been made, it is worth remembering that personal information about another individual is exempt from disclosure under data protection laws. 

If your concern is that someone within the council revealed your previous interest in confidence, you may also wish to raise this separately as a formal complaint and ask the council to investigate whether your information was handled appropriately.

If the land is sold, you can certainly ask the council to impose restrictions on its future use. 

It is common for councils to include restrictive covenants when selling land, preventing certain types of development or commercial activity, or requiring the land to be used only for specific purposes. 

Whether the council agrees will depend on its objectives for the site, but there is no reason why you should not make those concerns known now.

Equally, purchasing land does not automatically give someone the right to build on it or operate a business from it. 

Any significant development would usually require planning permission, and neighbours have the opportunity to submit comments if an application is made. 

If the land were later used in a way that caused noise, obstruction or other nuisance, there may also be planning enforcement or environmental health powers available.

The parking sign and CCTV camera are also worth keeping an eye on. 

Simply putting up a sign does not create legal parking restrictions, and if the CCTV captures areas beyond the owner's land, such as neighbouring property or public access routes, it should comply with data protection rules. 

If you believe it is intrusive, you can raise your concerns with the owner and, if necessary, the Information Commissioner's Office.

For now, I would encourage you to contact the council as soon as possible. 

Ask for an update on the proposed sale, request details of the disposal process, restate your own interest in the land and make clear your concerns about its future use. 

Taking those steps now will give you the best opportunity to influence the outcome before any decision is finalised.

Joanne Ellis, a partner and dispute resolution specialist at Stephensons, says: Your first step is to contact the council again and ascertain the position from them directly.

Ask specifically if they are in negotiations with the neighbour to sell the land and if they have granted any rights to him in the meantime to use the land in any way, keeping the parking sign and CCTV in mind. 

It may be that the council will discuss a potential sale to you given the history and if a sale with the neighbour has not yet completed. 

Until a sale goes through the council remain the landowner both responsible for it and able to say how the land is used. This may simply be a case where the council will sell the land to the highest bidder.

If you cannot persuade the council that they should sell the land to you, you should ask them to consider attaching restrictive covenants to the land.

This would mean that they can sell the land to the neighbour but with express restrictions on what he is and is not able to do. This could include a prohibition on building on the land or using it as a business.

If there are currently no covenants on the land you cannot force the council to insist on them but at the very least, you need to explore your concerns about the future of the land with them. 

You should also check your own deeds to see if there are any provisions in them that may help you in the event the neighbour does build on the land.

The CCTV camera footage must be dealt with in accordance with data protection law and you have rights if the camera covers either any of your own land or captures images of you.

Lastly you could also raise a complaint with the council in respect of the breach of confidentially, but without further evidence this may be difficult. Tactically you may want to delay the complaint while you discuss with them the sale of the land.