Extinguishment of Highway Rights
1.Introduction
Where areas of public highway are considered to be unnecessary by the Highway Authority, i.e. surplus to current and potential future requirements, the highway rights can be extinguished by application to the Magistrate’s Court.
2.Relevant Legislation
The extinguishment of highway rights is covered by Sections 116 and 117 of the Highways Act 1980.
3.Policy
3.1The general presumption will be against the extinguishment of highway rights unless following the assessment of the criteria detailed below there is a strong case in favour of extinguishment.
3.2Where land forms part of the public highway, the following criteria will be considered when making a decision.
(i)Is the land required for sight line purposes, forward visibility splays for pedestrians, equestrians, cyclists and vehicular traffic?
(ii)Is the land required for a future highway improvement scheme, e.g. road/footpath widening or cycle track provision? May it be needed for an improvement scheme at some time in the future?
(iii)Could the extinguishment and disposal of the land result in a change to the character of the street scene, possibly through development by a private owner?
(iv)Is the land owned by the County Council and would need to be retained for other purposes?
3.3Where areas of publicly maintainable highway are affected by new development an application should be made to the Secretary of State for the ‘stopping up’ of such areas.
Version Number: 1.0
Effective From: 14/03/2006
If copied or printed, this document should be treated as uncontrolled and correct only at the date it was copied or printed.