Deed of release on restrictive covenant

Hi  - We have a restrictive covenant on our title deeds restricting building on part of our garden . 

The covenant was made back in 1996 when land was sold by previous neighbours (vendors) to the previous owners of our property )purchasers

Extract of covenant as follows:

"The Purchasers for themselves and their successors in title for the property hereby jointly and severally covenant with the Vendor and his successors in title that no building of any kind will be erected upon that part of the property hereby conveyed as is shown yellow on the said plan and that such area shall be kept as an area of lawn and/or flower beds"


We are hoping to build on this area of land and our current neighbours (vendors - successors in title) are more than supportive of our plans to build and are happy to lift this covenant. Whilst the current neighbours are not the originally named vendors on the covenant (I believe they have since passed away) , my understanding from the covenant wording above is that as they are successors in title that they  are eligible to sign any covenant release forms. Is that correct?

Speaking briefly with a local solicitor, as both parties are happy to end the covenant, I believe that a 'Deed of Release' is the quickest and cheapest way of doing this, rather than going to the time and expense of a land tribunal removal? Is that also correct, or is there another process we need to follow?

If so, can we simply create a 'DIY'  deed of release letter with our neighbours for us both to sign and send to the Land Registry, or would you need for it to come via a solicitor? If we can do it ourselves, there appear to be plenty of online templates, unless you have a specific form /template that we'd be required to complete?

If this is the correct process, I'd also be grateful if you could advise please the fee that Land Registry would charge for handling this deed of release and updating our title deeds accordingly


Many thanks for your help
 

Rob - in order to release a covenant you need to clearly identify the benefiting land and who the current owner(s) is/are. If that is the neighbours then they would be the ones to release the covenant. A Deed of Release would be appropriate in my experience.
There are no template deeds of release and I would recommend using a conveyancer to ensure that the legal requirements are met. If you submit the application yourself then the fee is £40 and you apply by post.
I would recommend using a conveyancer to confirm the above and to ensure that what you wish to achieve is the right course of action to achieve what you want to achieve. We register the outcomes and can't advise you on how you get to that point in law.