When landowners become land-defenders: how to protect your land from new public rights of way

How can you protect your land from the implementation of new public rights of way? Our agriculture, land & development expert explains what landowners should do.

A public right of way allows members of the public a right over a privately owned path or track. The owner of this path will be responsible for maintaining the route and any gates or stiles, and may be liable for any injury to those exercising the right. Future use of such land may be limited as, once established, it is an uphill battle for a landowner to prevent use of the right of way or alter its route. Such a right is therefore likely to have a negative impact on the value of the land.

A right of way is established either by ‘express dedication’ of the landowner, or by ‘presumed dedication’. Presumed dedication can occur where a path or track has been used by the public as of right, without secrecy and without interruption for at least 20 years.

Once an application by a member of the public for designation of a public right of way is made, there is little that can be done to challenge its progression. Owners of a publicly used path should therefore lodge a Section 31(6) Landowner Statement to pre-emptively stop any designation application.

Section 31 (6) Landowner’s Statement

Lodging a Section 31(6) landowner statement designates a route as a ‘permissive path’. This means that while the public are able to continue using the path, no more time will be added to the 20-year clock.

Provided the 20 years have not already accumulated, a public right of way cannot be claimed over the path – the earlier you lodge one of these statements, the better. These statements need to be lodged every 20 years to ensure your land remains protected.

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has put in place a 2031 cut-off date for public right of way designation applications. This cap has now been abolished, meaning many more landowners now need to act.

If you are concerned about public use of a path crossing your land or have queries about public rights of way, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice.

Our Legal 500 and Chambers-rated agriculture & estates team help businesses or individuals operating in the rural sector, advising on a broad range of challenges that may arise.