With the government’s decision to scrap the 2031 deadline for adding unrecorded rights of way to the definitive map at the end of last year, it is crucial for landowners to understand how they can protect their land from future claims of public access.
The government’s latest policy shift
Introduced by the previous government, the 2031 deadline was intended to be the final opportunity for unrecorded rights of way to be added to the Definitive Map. The current government’s decision to remove this deadline means that public rights of way could continue to be claimed indefinitely. While public access is an important issue, landowners are rightfully concerned that this could lead to additional rights of way being created on their land, with little control over the process.
How can landowners protect their property?
Landowners can protect their property from the establishment of new rights of way by depositing a Landowner Statement under Section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980. By officially declaring that they do not intend to dedicate any new rights of way, landowners effectively freeze the 20-year period for claiming public access based on use. This provides a significant level of security against new claims for rights of way, giving landowners peace of mind. In our view, this is a critical deposit for any landowner to make to protect their interests.
However, it is important to note that this protection is not absolute. Prescriptive rights of way—those created by continuous public use over time—can still be registered as legal rights, even if a statement has been deposited. In other words, while the statement protects against new rights of way being claimed based on public use after the statement is deposited, it does not offer protection against prescriptive rights being established through long-term use before the statement is made. Therefore, landowners must be vigilant and aware of the activity on their land, particularly if the public has been using certain paths for an extended period.
Landowners should also ensure that signage is clear on the property which will help prevent the public deviating from the paths already in existence.
You can deposit a s31(6) Landowner Statement with your Local Authority.
How Moore Barlow can help
If you would like assistance with protecting your land from future claims of public access, please do get in touch with our Rural services lawyers, we’d be delighted to help.
