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Section 31(6) HA1980

Section 31(6) HA1980
Section 31 (6) of the Highways Act 1980 provides a mechanism for landowners to acknowledge the existence of certain public rights of way (PROW) across their land and to prevent new PROWs being created by “presumed dedication”.
 
Presumed dedication is where new PROWs are created following use of the route by members of the public, usually for a period of twenty years or more. The mechanism will not prevent the “creation” of rights of way arising from twenty years use where all that use was prior to the submission of the landowners statutory declaration (see below), nor of rights of way whose existence can be proved by reference to historical documentation.
 
The basic procedure is as follows:
  1. The landowner begins the process by sending a statement. This statement sets out the land in question and details any rights of way that are acknowledged to exist on that land. The statement must be accompanied by a plan at a scale of not less than six inches to the mile (effectively 1: 10000 or larger) showing the land in question and the acknowledged public rights of way. The plan should be signed and dated by the landowner.
  2. The landowner should then follow up this statement by submitting a statutory declaration. This is a legal statement that needs to be signed in the presence of a solicitor or similar. It has the effect of confirming the previous statement or acknowledging any changes or additions to the rights of way over the land.
  3. A new statutory declaration needs to be submitted to the highway authority not more than ten years after the date of the previous submission for the process to remain valid.
  4. The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 put a requirement on the surveying authorities to keep a register of the statutory declarations.
     
For further information on the procedure and for forms to submit the statutory declaration contact sarah.slade@cla.org.uk The CLA also has an advisory handbook with the information titled ‘Rebutting Deemed Dedication’ .
 
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Policy Contact


Sarah Slade MRICS
National Access Adviser

A chartered surveyor with responsibility for CLA policy on public rights of way and access issues. Provides advice to members on issues arising from public access to the countryside.

T: 01769 580080
F: 01769 580080
sarah.slade@cla.org.uk

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