access to an unadopted road

[fencecat]

Hello- we live alongside an unadopted road, we were wondering how we find out if we are allowed to put a gate in the wall from our back garden to the unadopted road so that we can get bikes in rather than going through the front garden and the house. There looks to have been a gateway into the road from the garden at some point, as you can see it in the wall. really struggling to find out any information so any ideas will be greatly appreciated!

[magicmerlin]

I have 2 questions for you.

1. Do you have access rights along unadopted road to your back garden? If you do I can't see a problem with you installing a gate into the wall assuming that the wall belongs to you.

2. If the answer to 1 is 'No' do you know who owns the unadopted road between the main highway and your back garden? The council highways department or neighbours may be able to help.

[fencecat]

hi magicmerlin, i believe we have access rights along the road to maintain the house and wall, but cannot find out who owns the road - the council were less than helpful!
will try asking a neighbour

[magicmerlin]

Access rights should be shown in deeds for your house.

[cassa333]

You need to download the land registry deeds for both your property and the paths (about 5 or 6 pounds each) as the council won't know who owns it. Unadopted is different to ownership.

Who maintains it?

If no one makes a cliam to it and you can't find the owner who is to complain that you have put one in? If a neighbour complains ask them to prove you aren't entitled? However by the same token they may ask you to prove you are!!!

Have a look on www.gardenlaw.co.uk for speedy and helpful advice.

[buildersmate]

Responders above are getting muddled between public rights of way and access rights.
Magicmerlin is referring to access right in terms of a private right of way or easement that you may have.
If this unadopted road is a public right of way (look on the councils definitive map to be sure, or look on the local OS map that is taken from the definitive map to see if either a footpath or a bridleway or byway (various types) exist along there. All of these are various types of public right of way and you and anyone else has an absolute right to pass along there. You can also wheel a bicycle up a footpath, or ride it up a bridleway or byway.
So, provided there is a public right of way along there I can see no objection to what you suggest -provided you own the boundary fence/hedge.
Hardly worth looking in gardenlaw, was it?

[fencecat]

Hi everyone, thanks for your help:
The road in question is not a public right of way, not a footpath marked on the map- it's just a road that leads to a collection of 8 houses, the owners of which i believe look after the road between them. i'll try getting hold of the house deeds to see what it says re access.
many thanks again

[cassa333]

What about private row?

I have read about right to access for maintanence purposes but could this be extended to include pass and repass for any purpose?

[buildersmate]

Cassa, what I referred to as a private RoW is an easement - a right of access. It is a legal agreement between two (or more parties) that entitles the owner of one piece of land to use a piece of land owned by another as an access, either of foot, or by motor vehicle, whatever the terms say. There are various sorts of easement, including a right to run pipes in the soil (often used for sewage pipes), a right to extract water.

A public RoW you know about.

[buildersmate]

Fencecat - you will probably find that no-one apparently owns this land. Just do it. The worst that can happen is you get told to block it up again. Do it for 20 years and you have automatically created your very own legal right to do it in perpetuity. That is how many legal rights of access have been created historically.

[cassa333]

I was refering to right of access to neighbouring land for maintenance purposes which would seem what the poster has. But could this be extended?

[cassa333]

Sorry for got to add..... but I do get confused with all the different row, access and easment parts.