Access - Right Of Way

[Unhappy19]

Hi,
we share a communal walkway with our neighbours and for security we have erected a fence and tried to hand our neighbour a key.
They have refused the key stating that they want it left open and will be taking the lock off the door.
I feel this is so that there friends can use it as walkway which is right past our house on the ground floor and not theirs which is upstairs.
Do they have a right to do this?

[Twenty20]

If it's a Right of Way - check your deeds - then, no, you can't block it, even with a gate, let alone a locked one.

[bookbinder]

Perhaps if you had discussed this with your neighbours beforehand, they might have been more amenable?

[Unhappy19]

It is a private right of way not a public right of way.
They have been offered a key but refused to take it.
The people walking through are not very nice and we have three children to thin of and they have none. The only issue i think is because they let their friends walk through and now they cant.

[daffy654]

How are they supposed to receive visitors if you have put a locked gate in their path?

[Unhappy19]

Sorry I should have said that it is the back entrance to the property. so they would need to knock on the front door. Also there is no issue with getting a key cut if they want for their visitors but even her friends never visit they just us it to cut through. Also People are using it to cut through to the pub and throw fag butts and spit outside our house. I have a 2 year old who picks up everything.

[daffy654]

In that case you must check your deeds as mentioned in the first reply.

It does seem that the neighbours are being unreasonable about it.

[Unhappy19]

I did think that which was why i wanted an outside opinion. The two properties upstairs both have to walk past our house to get upstairs and we have no issue whatsoever with them or any of their visitors and feel we are very reasonable. We just didnt think it is right for people to use it as a cut through. It is private right of way for the residents only. If it carried on this way for 20 years then it becomes a public right of way which isnt right.