Diversion via unmade private road?
Discussion
I live in a cul-de-sac off an through road, one end of this through road is a private road for about 800 meters and is an unmade track, the other end is a council maintained tarmac road. A new block of flats is being build on the "public" park of the road and a notice has appeared today that the water company are shutting the public part of the road for 3 days in Feb (half term week) in order to.do work related to the new block of flats. The diversion on the notice, and the only way out of our cul-de-sac, is via the unmade private road.
I don't usually drive on the unmade road as it is so potholed that I am worried it will damage my car, if I wanted to use my weekend car over those 3 days there is no way I could drive it on the track.
Can they actually shut the public road and effectively trap the residents of 40ish houses unless we drive on the unmade public road? Am I right in thinking that the owners of the private road can just shut it as and when the want so could shut that if they get fed up with the extra traffic?
I don't usually drive on the unmade road as it is so potholed that I am worried it will damage my car, if I wanted to use my weekend car over those 3 days there is no way I could drive it on the track.
Can they actually shut the public road and effectively trap the residents of 40ish houses unless we drive on the unmade public road? Am I right in thinking that the owners of the private road can just shut it as and when the want so could shut that if they get fed up with the extra traffic?
edthedead said:
I live in a cul-de-sac off an through road, one end of this through road is a private road for about 800 meters and is an unmade track, the other end is a council maintained tarmac road. A new block of flats is being build on the "public" park of the road and a notice has appeared today that the water company are shutting the public part of the road for 3 days in Feb (half term week) in order to.do work related to the new block of flats. The diversion on the notice, and the only way out of our cul-de-sac, is via the unmade private road.
I don't usually drive on the unmade road as it is so potholed that I am worried it will damage my car, if I wanted to use my weekend car over those 3 days there is no way I could drive it on the track.
Can they actually shut the public road and effectively trap the residents of 40ish houses unless we drive on the unmade public road? Am I right in thinking that the owners of the private road can just shut it as and when the want so could shut that if they get fed up with the extra traffic?
It's only for three days, and none of you will be trapped.I don't usually drive on the unmade road as it is so potholed that I am worried it will damage my car, if I wanted to use my weekend car over those 3 days there is no way I could drive it on the track.
Can they actually shut the public road and effectively trap the residents of 40ish houses unless we drive on the unmade public road? Am I right in thinking that the owners of the private road can just shut it as and when the want so could shut that if they get fed up with the extra traffic?
They 'closed' the top of our road for a few days. 7:30 AM to 5 PM.
There is no other way out.
They sent us a letter saying we could get in and out, but it might take time.
Emergency access would be possible..
I paraphrase.
Only effect on me was our bins did not get emptied.
We all just worked around it.
You want your road maintained, they need to shut it and crack on.
They may not actually shut the whole of it for the whole time the closure order states.
They may not work weekends anyway.
There is no other way out.
They sent us a letter saying we could get in and out, but it might take time.
Emergency access would be possible..
I paraphrase.
Only effect on me was our bins did not get emptied.
We all just worked around it.
You want your road maintained, they need to shut it and crack on.
They may not actually shut the whole of it for the whole time the closure order states.
They may not work weekends anyway.
GranpaB said:
edthedead said:
I live in a cul-de-sac off an through road, one end of this through road is a private road for about 800 meters and is an unmade track, the other end is a council maintained tarmac road. A new block of flats is being build on the "public" park of the road and a notice has appeared today that the water company are shutting the public part of the road for 3 days in Feb (half term week) in order to.do work related to the new block of flats. The diversion on the notice, and the only way out of our cul-de-sac, is via the unmade private road.
I don't usually drive on the unmade road as it is so potholed that I am worried it will damage my car, if I wanted to use my weekend car over those 3 days there is no way I could drive it on the track.
Can they actually shut the public road and effectively trap the residents of 40ish houses unless we drive on the unmade public road? Am I right in thinking that the owners of the private road can just shut it as and when the want so could shut that if they get fed up with the extra traffic?
It's only for three days, and none of you will be trapped.I don't usually drive on the unmade road as it is so potholed that I am worried it will damage my car, if I wanted to use my weekend car over those 3 days there is no way I could drive it on the track.
Can they actually shut the public road and effectively trap the residents of 40ish houses unless we drive on the unmade public road? Am I right in thinking that the owners of the private road can just shut it as and when the want so could shut that if they get fed up with the extra traffic?
OutInTheShed said:
They 'closed' the top of our road for a few days. 7:30 AM to 5 PM.
There is no other way out.
They sent us a letter saying we could get in and out, but it might take time.
Emergency access would be possible..
I paraphrase.
Only effect on me was our bins did not get emptied.
We all just worked around it.
You want your road maintained, they need to shut it and crack on.
They may not actually shut the whole of it for the whole time the closure order states.
They may not work weekends anyway.
Firstly, it's not for maintaince, it is to run pipes to a new development. Secondly, there is no mention of it only being between set hours, or us being able to get in or out at all. There is no other way out.
They sent us a letter saying we could get in and out, but it might take time.
Emergency access would be possible..
I paraphrase.
Only effect on me was our bins did not get emptied.
We all just worked around it.
You want your road maintained, they need to shut it and crack on.
They may not actually shut the whole of it for the whole time the closure order states.
They may not work weekends anyway.
You are right, it may not be shut for the while time, shall I cross my fingers and hope it is open when I need to get to and from work?
edthedead said:
Am I right in thinking that the owners of the private road can just shut it as and when the want so could shut that if they get fed up with the extra traffic?
If the road is a public right of way then no they can’t.There’s plenty of roads that have not been adopted and are privately maintained but to which the public have a right of access across them. I would assume this is one such road.
I would be fery surprised if a Council would involve a private road in a diversion unless it was a Byway.
Most English and some Welsh Councils have an online Definitive Map where road/byway/path status can be seen, although some Councils seem to think this is valuable information and can hide it deep within other pages.
First port of call is Streetmap which is the latest Ordnance Survey maps which may show your "private" road as being a Byway Open to All Traffic. Note that a Restricted Byway means no motorised traffic, so this couldn't be used as a diversion.
A couple of years ago I was speaking to a chap in a Welsh Council about a Byway diversion. The diversion posted was many miles long and there was a quite short track around the planned works. The track was essentially legal, but the Council didn't have the paperwork to PROVE its legality. Rights of Way are very complex.
Most English and some Welsh Councils have an online Definitive Map where road/byway/path status can be seen, although some Councils seem to think this is valuable information and can hide it deep within other pages.
First port of call is Streetmap which is the latest Ordnance Survey maps which may show your "private" road as being a Byway Open to All Traffic. Note that a Restricted Byway means no motorised traffic, so this couldn't be used as a diversion.
A couple of years ago I was speaking to a chap in a Welsh Council about a Byway diversion. The diversion posted was many miles long and there was a quite short track around the planned works. The track was essentially legal, but the Council didn't have the paperwork to PROVE its legality. Rights of Way are very complex.
edthedead said:
If I don't want to drive my car down an unmade track and risk damaging it.... how am I (and the other residents) not trapped for 3 days? Just drive down the track and damage my car?
edthedead said:
if I wanted to use my weekend car over those 3 days there is no way I could drive it on the track.
It’s not rocket science.Just don’t use your “weekend” car
edthedead said:
shall I cross my fingers and hope it is open when I need to get to and from work?
You can, but it’s unlikely to have much influence on the works.My advice would be not to worry about it and just drive slowly on the rough road. I live up an unadopted road and at this time of year you could lose your dog in the holes and it’s absolutely fine.
Park elsewhere for 3 days and walk the 800 yards or so to the car?
It sounds like you are angry about being inconvenienced so some flats can be built. Nothing you can do about it so either park elsewhere for a short time or don't use the weekend car, or drive down the track carefully.
It sounds like you are angry about being inconvenienced so some flats can be built. Nothing you can do about it so either park elsewhere for a short time or don't use the weekend car, or drive down the track carefully.
edthedead said:
If I don't want to drive my car down an unmade track and risk damaging it.... how am I (and the other residents) not trapped for 3 days? Just drive down the track and damage my car?
The whole point of having multiple cars is that you take the one best suited for the job at hand... Presumably if you are heading out to grab some cement or compost you wouldn't take the weekend car either.What is the weekend car?
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