Landowners, including developers, Parish or District Councils, can also create a new right of way by entering into a Creation Agreement with the County Council.  Owners can use a Creation Agreement to create a new right of way across their land or to access their development.

Before entering into an agreement with a landowner, the County Council will first require proof of actual land ownership and will also need to consider how the proposed route will add to the convenience or enjoyment of the public.

Creation Agreements are different from Creation Orders in that no public consultation is required to create a new route by agreement, whereas a Creation Order follows the same consultation procedures as a Diversion or Extinguishment Order.  For further information please see the link to the guidance notes below.

The relevant legislation covering Creation Agreements is Section 25 of the Highways Act 1980.

Download guidance notes for creating new rights of way

Protection against public rights of way being established

What is Section 31 (6)?

The most common way for a route to become a public right of way is through uninterrupted use by the public for 20 years. Landowners can prevent this by, for example, erecting notices which clearly indicate that no public right of way exists, or by closing the way for one or more days a year.

Section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980 enables landowners to deposit with Worcestershire County Council, a map showing the extent of their land, and a statement indicating the public rights of way that they recognise over it (if any). The statement can be renewed by statutory declaration. This helps demonstrate an intention not to dedicate any additional public rights of way.

For more information and guidance about making statements and declarations under Section 31(6), please visit the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

All deposits and/or subsequent declarations lodged before 1 October 2013, will be valid for 10 years from the date of the last deposit/declaration. Those lodged on or after 1 October 2013 will be valid for 20 years from the date of the last deposit/declaration. To remain valid, all deposits/declarations must be renewed by the date of expiry.

Landowners can also protect their land from its registration as a town or village green, following long term recreational use, by submitting an application under the Commons Act 2006. For more information, please visit the Gov.UK website. See also Commons and Greens.

Benefits

Depositing a map, statement and declaration has several benefits:

• Where a track or path has been used by the public, but for less than 20 years, it will not usually be possible for a right of way to be claimed. However, a claim at common law might still be possible.
• From the date of deposit, the landowner is also making a declaration that no additional new public tracks or paths may be created without permission.
• With the landowner's agreement, it allows the continued informal use of tracks and paths, for example, permissive paths, without those paths becoming public rights of way.

How to deposit a landowner statement and declaration

Landowners or acting agents may deposit a statement and/or declaration with Worcestershire County Council by completing the Application Form CA16.

Download Guidance for the completion of form CA16

Deposits under Section 31(6) may be combined with a deposit under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 to protect the land against claims for town and village green rights using the same form. For further information please visit the DEFRA website about Towns and Village Greens. It is strongly recommended that you read the guidance provided by DEFRA before completing your application.

Charges for applications

Worcestershire County Council makes the following charges:

• £200 for the initial deposit made under Section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980 by completing Parts A and B of Form CA16. This allows up to 10 parcels of land to be included. Please note, applications containing more than 10 parcels of land will incur an additional fee of £100 for every additional 10 parcels

• £200 for any subsequent declarations made under Section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980 by completing Part C of Form CA16. This allows up to 10 parcels of land to be included. Please note, applications containing more than 10 parcels of land will incur an additional fee of £100 for every additional 10 parcels
• £350 for the statement under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006 by completing Part D of Form CA16. This allows for 1 parcel of land of no more than 1 hectare to be included. For each additional parcel of land, or for land areas in excess of 1 hectare please contact the council for information on fees. This is to cover the cost of placing the statutory notices on site which will be contracted out by the council 

Section 31(6) register

By law from 1 October 2013, we are required to keep a register of deposits and declarations. This includes the name of the person making the deposit, a description and map of the area it covers and the date it was made or renewed.

You can download the Section 31(6) Register 

Please note: Links to Statements, Declarations and Public Notices are currently unavailable due to data migration. If you would like to view any of these documents please contact countryside@worcestershire.gov.uk. We hope to have the problem resolved soon.

See a copy by appointment at:

Public Rights of Way Team
Worcestershire County Council
Countryside Centre
Worcester Woods Country Park
Wildwood Drive
Worcester, WR5 2LG

Contact us in advance to arrange an appointment.

Contact countryside

This is a general guide only and is not intended as a substitute for specific legal advice.

Planning permission does not alter any rights of way crossing the land. If a path needs to be diverted or extinguished for development to take place, a legal order must be made under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 before development is completed.  This will usually be processed by the District Council Planning Department.

The Countryside Access team must be consulted on any proposed development that affects a right of way.

As an Order Making Authority we have the power to make, confirm and certify Public Path and Definitive Map Modification orders. In the interests of public accessibility this list is provided as a supplement to traditional advertising methods. If you have trouble accessing the list please:

Public Rights of Way Order Consultations

The County Council has the power to authorise the making of Public Path Orders to divert, create or extinguish ('stop up') public rights of way.  Anyone can make an application.

Diversion orders

Before the County Council will consider an application to divert a public right of way it must be satisfied that:

    The proposed diversion is in the interests of either the public, or the landowner or occupier of the land.
    The diverted route must not be substantially less convenient to use as the existing route.
    A diversion will not result in a negative effect on public enjoyment.

These preconditions are set out in detail in Section 119 of the Highways Act 1980.

Download guidance notes for Public Path Diversion Orders.

Extinguishment orders

Before the County Council will consider an application to extinguish a public right of way it must be satisfied that the path is not needed for public use.

The preconditions are set out in detail in Section 118 of the Highways Act 1980.

Download guidance notes for Public Path Extinguishment Orders.

Creation orders

Before the County Council will consider an application to create a public right of way it must appear to the authority that there is a need for the new path.  The County Council must also be satisfied that the new path would add to the convenience or enjoyment for a substantial number of users or local residents.

The preconditions are set out in detail in Section 26 of the Highways Act 1980.

Download guidance notes for creating new rights of way

Public rights of way should be open and available for public use at all times.  However, it may be necessary in the interests of public safety to formally close a right of way for a limited period of time to allow works that disturb the surface of a path, or works next to a right of way, to be carried out.

Public rights of way must not be closed or the public use in anyway restricted without the County Council's prior consent.  If it is considered necessary for a right of way to be temporarily closed, the County Council must first be consulted so that the correct statutory procedure can be followed.

In the event of animal or plant diseases affecting an area we will act on advice from DEFRA regarding the closure of public rights of way.

The relevant legislation covering Temporary closures is Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (as amended).

If you think you may need a closure, contact countryside to discuss.  Please contact us at least six weeks before you want the closure to begin.  You should note that there is a charge for this process.

Standard Operating Procedure for Emergency and Temporary Closures on Public Rights of Way.

The Deregulation Act 2015 received royal assent on 26th March 2015. Part of the act concerns public rights of way and will take effect once the regulations and guidance have been completed. For further information, please see The Deregulation Act 2015.

These Orders may be used to prohibit certain kinds of traffic from rights of way which is considered unsuitable or inappropriate, e.g. prohibiting motorised vehicular use from a Byway Open to All Traffic to prevent damage to the surface of the route.

The relevant legislation governing Traffic Regulations Orders is Section 1 and 2 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

Download: A list of Byways in Worcestershire with TROs (PDF)

Pay TRO fee