Public Rights of Way
Landowners need to be proactive to prevent members of the public accessing private land, including submitting ownership documents to the council.
Without protection, landowners are vulnerable to members of the public claiming rights over their land.
A new right of way can be claimed if a route has been used without interruption for 20 years, as long as it was used without secrecy, force, or the landowner’s permission.
The obligation is on the landowner to prove they have tried to prevent members of the public accessing their land. Submitting a landowner statement under Section 31 (6) of the Highways Act 1980 (for public rights of way) needs to be completed and submitted to the local authority that are responsible for highways.
The statement involves a map showing the existing rights of way (if there are any) and a statement from the landowner to say they do not wish any more footpaths to be designated over their land.
If there are no objections the landowner can submit a declaration requesting the land be protected from new rights of way for 20 years.
Hannah Young works for Fisher German
