Highways Act and Commons Act deposits
Protecting your land
Section 31(6) of the Highway Act 1980 allows landowners to acknowledge the existence of those public rights of way which cross their land and to prevent new public rights of way being created by long use. New public rights of way may be created following use of a route by members of the public, usually for a period of twenty years or more. A statement/declaration made under section 31(6) will not prevent rights of way that already exist from being recorded, nor can it remove any existing rights.
Under section 15A of the Commons Act 2006 a landowner may deposit with us a map and statement which brings to an end any recreational use of the land 'as of right'. Provided that this is submitted before there has been 20 years 'as of right' use of the land for recreational purposes it will prevent the land from being registered as a town or village green.
Further details about deposits made under both the Highways Act and the Commons Act can be found in Defra's Guidance for the completion of form CA16 (this link will open a PDF document).
Making an application
If, having read Defra's guidance, you would like to make an application please complete form CA16 which can be found at the DEFRA webpage and return it by post (a signed paper copy is required) to the following address:
Transport Parking & Environmental Strategy
Hounslow House
7 Bath Road
Hounslow
TW3 7EB
Please note that we charge a fee of £660 for all Highways and Landowner deposits made for a single/standard parcel of land.
Additional fees may be charged for larger or more complex land holdings.
On receipt of an application form, we will advise you of the cost. Only on receipt of both the fee and a correctly completed form will your application be considered duly made. At this stage we will publish a notice of the deposit on our website, post site notices on the land affected and update the legal register of deposits. In all cases it is recommended that a draft version of your deposit is submitted before a final signed version is deposited.
