If a landowner wishes to ensure that a public right of way is not established across their land through use by the public then they must ensure that the potential right is challenged in some way. This can take the form of erecting gates, putting up signs or challenging people using the route (amongst other methods). Whilst these approaches can be effective they suffer some drawbacks - signs can be torn down or the wording on the signs can be insufficiently specific to form a valid challenge.
To provide a more robust method of establishing the position in relation to rights of way on a landholding a landowner can lodge documents with the local authority, as specified by section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980. Two sets of documentation are required. Firstly a map of the correct scale must be deposited with the owner's landholding marked out and highlighting the acknowledged rights of way, together with a sworn statement. Secondly, within 10 years of the original deposition, a second map and a sworn declaration that no additional ways have been dedicated since the original deposition was made.
In the event that a claim for a right of way is subsequently made relating to public use during the period between the submission of the deposition and the subsequent declaration, the existence of the documentation will, in most cases, be sufficient to refute that claim.
The WORD document accessible below contains all of the information on the past and current section 31(6) depositions. The first few pages contain an index relating to the individual entries - clicking on the blue reference numbers will take you the selected entry. If you want see a map detailing the land affected by each entry then make a note of the reference number (format s31_6_x - where x is a sequential number) and then select the page containing the map document from the left hand menu.
This register contains a number of entries that appear to have expired some time ago. Each entry is valid only between the date of the deposition and the date of the subsequent declaration(s). As claims for the establishment of rights of way through 20 years' use may go back in time, these "old" entries are therefore still of relevance. These older entries bear the names of the people who submitted the depositions and declarations at the time, however it is known that in a small number of cases land ownership has since changed hands.
In one or two cases the landowner has submitted more than declaration. As long as the later entries have been submitted within ten years of the submission date of the previous declaration this then extends the period during which no rights of way can be established.
The plans available to view here on the website are not legal documents. In the event of any disagreement, the original documents submitted will be taken as the definitive record.
