If a route is shown on the Definitive Map and Statement landowners cannot prevent the public from using it, however, they have the right to request the public to leave the land where they have no right of access. Landowners could also erect signs or lock gates to inform the public of the intention to prevent access.
The procedure for depositing statements and declarations under section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980 and the registration of new town and village greens under the Commons Act 2006 has been amended by the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013.
Section 31(6) of the 1980 Act enables a landowner to deposit a highway statement accompanied by a map (of scale not less than 1:10,560) acknowledging any existing public rights of way across their land at the same time as declaring that they have no intention to dedicate any further routes to the public. This is then followed up by submitting a highway declaration within 20 years of submitting the highway statement.
This process has no effect on the existence of public rights of way already shown on the definitive map or otherwise shown to carry public rights, including by deemed dedication by virtue of 20 years use, before the highway statement and map was deposited. Please note that this process does not apply to cases where an application to record a public right of way is based on historical documentary evidence.
Until the 2013 Act it has not been possible to make declarations to assist in the protection of land from registration as a town or village green, however landowner statements were introduced on 1 October 2013 and allow landowners to prevent such registrations.
Section 15 of the 2013 Act inserts sections 15A and 15B into the Commons Act 2006. Section 15A allows a landowner to deposit a landowner statement accompanied by a map (of scale not less than 1:10,560) which brings to an end any period of recreational use of the land 'as of right' to which the statement and map relate, provided they have been deposited before there have been 20 years recreational use. The effect of this statement is to interrupt any such period of use of the land shown on the map and described in the statement.
Section 13 of the 2013 Act changed the process to allow you to make a single application to prevent your land being recorded both as highway on the definitive map and registered as a town or village green. There is now a prescribed form that can be used for either or both deposits.
The form of the application is prescribed in Schedule 1 to the 2013 regulations - the Commons (Registrations of Town or Village Greens) and Dedicated Highways (Landowner Statements and Declarations) (England) Regulations 2013. A copy of the regulations is available to view at:
UK Legislation (external website)
To retrieve the regulations search for '2013' in the year and '1774' in the number.
The application form (CA16) that allows for both highways statements and declarations, landowner statements and the guidance for the completion of form CA16 are available from:
Commons Act 2006 forms (external website)
Please refer to the privacy notice to find out more about how we handle the information we collect in processing the application.
The legislation states that the highway statement and declaration cannot be submitted at the same time. However, a landowner statement can be submitted at the same time as a highway statement or declaration.
Fees
Every application must be accompanied by the correct fee.
There is a non-refundable administration fee of £400 for each application.
Please note: the fee is chargeable for each individual application. Lodging a Highways Act declaration following the deposit of a statement constitutes as a separate application.
Please make cheques payable to East Riding of Yorkshire Council and send, complete with the application, to:
The Definitive Map Team
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
County Hall
Cross Street
Beverley
HU17 9BA.
The fee covers checking the application is valid, acknowledgement of the application, preparation of notices and posting notices on site, publishing the notice of the application on our website, recording the application on the registers and serving notices where applicable.
To recover any additional costs incurred if there are extra travelling costs and officer time needed to erect a large number of notices or if the area consists of parcels of land over a wide area there will be an additional charge of £50 per hour.
Registers
The legislation requires that we maintain registers containing the details and copies of all maps and statements and declarations lodged with the authority.
The current registers of highways statements and declarations and landowner statements are available for inspection online.