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I am in an Angling Club which has rented a lake near Drayton Oxfordshire called Oday Hill Pit for close to twenty years and have accessed it by driving down Stonehill Lane which is a tarmac road 20 feet wide used by a gravel extraction company. A few weeks ago someone unilaterally installed a gate across Stonehill Lane from 17.00 to 07.00 week days and all day Saturday and Sunday claiming it is because of "joy riders". I told him that as they normally only appear after the hours of darkness he only needs to close the lane during those hours when our members would not be fishing anyway but he ignored that point. I spoke to the local Police Officer who told me that he had been unable to source any official complaints regarding "joy riders" in that area.

I attempted to get Oxfordshire County Council to take action to remove the obstruction but the jobs worth’s took refuge in their favorite stance, that of total inertia and they said as follows.

“As Highway Authority we have a responsibility to ensure any structures that cross rights of way are authorized under current legislation. It is not a requirement for the County Council to ascertain ownership of the land as this would be a private matter between the true owner and ‘installer’ if they were found to be different.
If the installer of a gate or other structure is not the landowner it would be up to the true landowner to take this further through civil action. We ascertain whether the structure is legal NOT whether or who the landowner is.
If you would like to pursue a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) for Stonehill Lane then please contact the Rights of Way Office in Oxford.
If you would like to pursue the ownership issue I would recommend you try Land Registry and the Parish Council. I would further add that it may well be that those vehicles using the route to access properties/the gravel pit have a private right or easement to do so. The County Council does not keep records of private rights.

I then contacted the Rights of Way Officer who answered me as follows.
The Definitive Map Modification Order application process is used to add new or higher rights to the Definitive Map (the legal record of public rights of way) where there can be proved to exist. Stonehill Lane is recorded on the Definitive Map as a public bridleway, i.e. there are no recorded public vehicular rights to use it. Byways Open to All Traffic (BOATs) are the only category of public right of way to have public access for motorised vehicles. I should point out however that there has recently been a change in the law which severely curtailed the grounds to record BOATS. All public rights of way for motorised vehicles were extinguished subject to certain exemptions by virtue of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 part 6.
DMMOs are unfortunately a lengthy legal process and it can take up to 9 years to even start looking at a particular case which can then take a further 3 years to reach a decision. So it looks like were stuffed.

I WOULD WELCOM ANY COMMENTS OR ADVICE.

So, who owns the land, the lake and who rides their horse down it?

I have no idea who rides horses down it or who owns the land. The point I was trying to make is that someone has blocked the gate and the County Council will do nothing about it stating that it's up to individuals to sort out who owns the land and then take civil action themselves.

if the gate is locked then it is an illegal obstruction on a public right of way and county council are legally bound to have the obstruction removed,or you could cycle down the lane with ahacksaw and remove the lock yourself so long as you did not go out with the intention of removing the lock but just happened to be carrying the equipment as you were carrying out some work down at the lake(lets say), if its a bridlegate ie allows access for horses and cyclists tough luck,try the NRA they might have a different take or try for right of passage by dedication due to unhidered passage by motorvehicles for 20 years,
yours in the minefield that is rights of way
slartybartfast

You can remove the lock and chain from the site and hand it in to the police as 'evidence' of the highway being obstructed (that's assuming the gate makes the path impassable to horses and/or cyclists). It's a criminal offence to obstruct the highway.

As its a bridleway you could try getting some horse riders (or,god forbid, ramblers ) to complain.
Also as it mysteriosly appeared it could mysteriously disappear

"I am in an Angling Club which has rented a lake near Drayton Oxfordshire called Oday Hill Pit for close to twenty years and have accessed it by driving down Stonehill Lane which is a tarmac road 20 feet wide used by a gravel extraction company. A few weeks ago someone unilaterally installed a gate across Stonehill Lane"

Who do you rent it from? Presumerably the owner? So how do they access it?

If you have paid to use the facility but are now prevented from doing so then I'd be asking the owner to sort it quick sharp or I'd be demanding my money back. Alternatively I'd be making it clear that the club would be forced to find another venue.

Having said all that, if the access "road" is a definitive bridelway then the gate is almost certainly illegal. It doesn't matter who installed it or even whether it's still passable to horses and cycles.

If it is was not recorded as a limitation when the way was dedicated/recorded or subsequently authorised by the highway authority it is an obstruction. Presumerably you could serve a Highways Act 1980, section 130A notice on them.

The only reservation that I have comes from it being a bridleway. I'm not as familiar with the rules regarding BRs, could be different to byways I'd have to check but I'd start by reporting it as an illegal obstruction to the county council RoW Dept and see what response that got.

By their own admission,

“As Highway Authority we have a responsibility to ensure any structures that cross rights of way are authorized under current legislation."

So they can tell you whether it is authorised or not and if it is not then they can deal with it cant they.

cheers

Richard

The owner is a gravel company and they have accessed it via a 20 foot wide tarmac road but as the gate is open between 07.00 and 17.00 they are ot bothered.

No point in demanding my money back, they would not give it and there are no other venues about that we can afford.

Oxford County Council say it is not illegal because it is 5 feet wide and is passable to horses and cycles.

I do not know how to find out if it is was or was not recorded as a limitation or if is dedicated/recorded or subsequently authorised by the highway authority it is an obstruction but I don't think that it is or was.

I will have a look at serving a Highways Act 1980, section 130A notice on them.

I have reported it as an illegal obstruction to the county council RoW Dept and they say it is not. See first pos

They say it is not authorised and it is a private matter that I have to deal with.

The process for doing the above is a 9 year waiting list and then it takes anoth 3 years.

The Land Registry will be able to tell you who owns the land if it has changed hands recently.

You need to send them a large-scale OS map with the location marked on it.

Yup, I've done that but there nearly all related to him so they wont back us.