Landowner blocking cul de sac.
Discussion
An unusual one.
A landowner has blocked a cul de sac with a fence.
They started work at 16:00 Friday, finished ~ 20:00.
Obviously waited until the council had all gone home for the weekend.
I'm sure he must have committed an offence; what is it?
I don't really want to wait until Monday morning.
Whether the council will do anything about it anyway, is another matter.
Their performance with planning matters appears to be to do sod all; presumably because it costs money to enforce, particularly with bigger infringers with deep pockets.
The road used to join a main road as the leg of a T junction, but the junction was closed many years ago.
The road is not his property; his property runs long one side of the road
AFAIK, the road has not recently had a 'stopping up' order on it, however, how far the original one (~ 36 years ago) went which closed the junction, I don't know.
No doubt there are civil remedies but they have all the costs and risks inherent with civil action.
Right of way won't help because a right of way has to go somewhere. AFAIK a cul de sac, by definition, can't be a right of way.
It still qualifies as a pedestrian ROW, but he's left a 'kissin' gate in to cover that.
>>> Edited by jeffreyarcher on Saturday 18th December 01:53
A landowner has blocked a cul de sac with a fence.
They started work at 16:00 Friday, finished ~ 20:00.
Obviously waited until the council had all gone home for the weekend.
I'm sure he must have committed an offence; what is it?
I don't really want to wait until Monday morning.
Whether the council will do anything about it anyway, is another matter.
Their performance with planning matters appears to be to do sod all; presumably because it costs money to enforce, particularly with bigger infringers with deep pockets.
The road used to join a main road as the leg of a T junction, but the junction was closed many years ago.
The road is not his property; his property runs long one side of the road
AFAIK, the road has not recently had a 'stopping up' order on it, however, how far the original one (~ 36 years ago) went which closed the junction, I don't know.
No doubt there are civil remedies but they have all the costs and risks inherent with civil action.
Right of way won't help because a right of way has to go somewhere. AFAIK a cul de sac, by definition, can't be a right of way.
It still qualifies as a pedestrian ROW, but he's left a 'kissin' gate in to cover that.
>>> Edited by jeffreyarcher on Saturday 18th December 01:53
JA
Time to have a deep look at Highways Act 1980. If you haven't a Stones etc then local Reference Liabrary may well stock it.
The nub is can it still be a Highway? If it is your home and dry but I would suspect it isn't half going to take some effort to prove and certainly not over a weekend.
Stopping up Order made years ago? LA or application from private individual?
Have a look at:
Sect 31 as amended by Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 S 72 and sch 17, Local Gov Act 1985 and Sch 4. - creation of a Highway presumed after public use for more than 20 years.
S116 Order for stopping up a Highway
S130 Protection of public rights to use a highway
S137 Wilful obstruction of a highway. (offence)
S138 Erecting a fence on a highway (offence)
S143 Removal of structure from a Highway. (Order)
Best of British, sir.
DVD
Time to have a deep look at Highways Act 1980. If you haven't a Stones etc then local Reference Liabrary may well stock it.
The nub is can it still be a Highway? If it is your home and dry but I would suspect it isn't half going to take some effort to prove and certainly not over a weekend.
Stopping up Order made years ago? LA or application from private individual?
Have a look at:
Sect 31 as amended by Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 S 72 and sch 17, Local Gov Act 1985 and Sch 4. - creation of a Highway presumed after public use for more than 20 years.
S116 Order for stopping up a Highway
S130 Protection of public rights to use a highway
S137 Wilful obstruction of a highway. (offence)
S138 Erecting a fence on a highway (offence)
S143 Removal of structure from a Highway. (Order)
Best of British, sir.
DVD
Are you saying that he's blocked off the only vehicular access into the cul de sac? I would expect the deeds to the land to include the right of vehicular access from the public road, and this right to have been passed on to the leaseholders if the properties are leasehold. If the access he's blocked off isn't the primary access into the cul de sac it may well be you have no rights to it. Why has the landowner gone to the expense and trouble of blocking it off - what's in it for him?
Quick way round this would be to call the highway authority concerned on Monday morning. You need to establish highway rights via the councils legal section. 'Once a highway always a highway'. (fact its a cul de sac means nothing). Also Highways act 1980 as mentioned above will defend those rights.
Normally roads with no highway rights are gated from construction and the gate closed once a year for 24hrs to prevent establishing highway rights to the public. This is different to privately and publically maintained roads with highway rights which yours sounds like.
Normally roads with no highway rights are gated from construction and the gate closed once a year for 24hrs to prevent establishing highway rights to the public. This is different to privately and publically maintained roads with highway rights which yours sounds like.
How many people live in the cul-de-sac?
What land, if any, around the cul-de-sac does the land owner own?
What relationship does the land owner have with the current residents of the cul-de-sac?
Is the road addopted by the local highway authority?
Without such answers its hard to make a judgement on what the land owner is doing
What land, if any, around the cul-de-sac does the land owner own?
What relationship does the land owner have with the current residents of the cul-de-sac?
Is the road addopted by the local highway authority?
Without such answers its hard to make a judgement on what the land owner is doing
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