Right of Way

[breathe21]

A friend of mine has lived in her house for the past 9yrs. It is an end one of 3. At the front of the 3 houses is a pathway belonging to the house at the other end 2 my friend, this person owns the pathway and the land around it. To get to my friends house you have to drive up the pathway about 50 yrds to her garden/drive. On the deeds my friend has access by foot only. I have known alot of the past people who have lived in all 3 properties and nobody has ever queried who drives over it. The person who now owns the pathway is refusing my friend and her neighbour access unless they pay him �500 per year, but then only they can drive on it and nobody else, ie their friends or family. He is also getting very bolshy with people parking near it when they visit my friend and neighbour, he keeps coming out of the house and demanding that they move their car, even tho they are not parking on his land. Is their anything my friend and her neighbour can do about this. I presume this is a case of being landlocked???

[joko]

is there no way a new gate can be put in at your end?

[breathe21]

Hi Joko
No as unfortunately all the land belongs the neighbour. There is no other route by car to get to my friends house other than going over this neighbours property. She is now at her wits end as she will prob have great difficulty selling it now.

[joko]

as far is i know, right of way is right of way - there is usually no allowance for the whims of the owner, such as no friends, etc, unless some damage to the property is being done.

[buildersmate]

The only thing she can do is negotiate an easement (for a right to take a vehicle down there). This could then be registered on the LR title for her property. Might be expensive though.
This should have been picked up when she bought the house but it is a long tome ago now. Unfortunately, though it may seem unfair, the law is on the side of the landowner

[Sprowston]

Unfortunately I have to agree with previous posts. However, a path can be declared a right of way if it can be shown that it has enjoyed free access for a period of (I think) 15 years. If you can show your local authority evidence of unrestricted access by vehicles (anybody's vehicles) for this period then they will add it to their definitve rights of way map!

As to your subsidiary question, this is more clear cut!
As long as there no parking restrictions on the road (e.g. yellow lines, permit-only parking, within 50 metres of a roundabout etc. etc) a taxed vehicle can be parked anywhere on the public highway. The fact that it is outside someone's house is irrelevant! It would even be OK for you block his driveway if his car wasn't on it! (If it was you would be causing an obstruction!) Tell all your friends/family to park in front of his house. If he rants and raves in the street report it to the police as public nuisance!

[Sprowston]

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[ripples8]

Hi

Just thought you might like to know :

The actual period is 20yrs of free and unchallenged use before any right of way can be adopted by the council. You must be able to prove you used it with full knowledge of the owner and not just sneaking up it eg at night etc..