right of way

[joanmac]

I bought my one hundred year old property eight years ago with a "right of way on foot only" stipulated on the charges register. With planning permission I erected a fence around my property with gates at the access points on the right of way as shown on the title plans. My neighbour insists that the gates should be four foot wide. As there is nothing stipulated on the charges register other the a "right of way on foot only" can he dictate to me the size of the gates. Land registry confirm that due to the age of the properties they do not know who is responsible for maintaining walls and fences between the properties. I demolished a wall that was unsafe and replaced it with the new fence at my cost. I think this is what started him off. He is now threatning court action if I do not do as he asks and also reimburse him in the region of £750 costs for a few threatening letters from his solicitior
Any thoughts on the above would be appreciated

[woofgang]

Wouldn't have thought so unless he is four feet wide.......my fil owned a pub with a right of way across the carpark. The gating there had to be wide enough for a wheelbarrow but that was specified on the deeds.

[joanmac]

woofgang
thanks for the answer, its a start

[joko]

i think he wants to be able to get vehicles through it or large items....are your gates much smaller? or is this a matter of a few inches and hes being awkward?

if the original walkway was 4ft and you have halved it, i can understand his annoyance, and id have expected you to change like for like - and given that its not only your walkway, his feelings should have been considered too

you could tell him hes free to put in a 4ft gate himself if he likes - until then yours stays.

you owe him nothing for the letters, they were his own choice.

[themas]

I assume the right of way is over your land & that the wall you demolished & fence you built are both on your land.

No-one needs a 4ft wide gate for an access on foot only. It seems to me his only possible justification is if the access was in fact 4ft wide before you put the gates there & he had used it as such over a lengthy period (I think it is 20 years). If that is the case he just might be able to claim a deemed easement (I'm not sure whether that's the correct term) to have access over the wider area. However, I'm not at all sure he would succeed because he is using a formal right of way anyhow & deemed easements normally arise when someone has been doing something without permission or any formal agreement.

If he persists you either just ignore him (in which case you may get involved in a Court case) or you get your solicitor to advise you.

[joanmac]

Joko and Themas
Just got in from work and seen your answers.
Thank you and much appreciated

[cassa333]

Can you put the wording on his and your deeds please.

Sometimes the devil is in the detail :)

How wide was the gate before and for how long were they that wide?

TBH four feet wide isn't too much. It's not as if you could get a car through or anything like that. What is it her does that has warrented four feet in the past?

[AlBags]

Gods sake .. forget worrying about what the neighbour has to carry along the path. The rules don't say 'a person and a mower' or a person carrying a large frame'
Replace the gate with a Cow Gate and tell him to bugger off : )
The path should be adequate for pedestrian use .. and it is.
Also, it has been agreed and authorised by the planners.
Don't pay him anything.

[cassa333]

Planners often don't consern themselves with row issues or even who owns land.

Unless otherwise stipulated in the deeds about gates and the use thereof you cannot block a row or be obtuse and make it difficult to use that row. That can include locks even if you give them a key.

If I walk along with two large bags of shopping on each arm I take up more space than a 'regular sized' gate!!! For your neighbour to enjoy his lawful row the gate or gap has to be reasonable for him to enjoy it unencumbered.

In some cases the dominant tenant (row user) has more rights than the servient (land owner)

How wide was the row before you put the nerw fence up? He may over time aquired rights of 4ft anyway! And how big is it now? If we are taliking 2 or 3 inches smaller than 4ft then he is having a laugh. If it is two feet then you are clearly deluded if you think his row has not be substantialy interfeered with!

Unless this goes to court and found in his favour or costs awarded then he has diddly chance of making you pay the fees he has incured to date.

[joanmac]

Thank you all for the interesting and appreciated answers

[weas]

do not give any money, here in the cotswolds we have a rights of way warden, they are so helpful, and will be really pleased that you have even put a gate up , contact your warden and get them on side
good luck

[starone]

Just a thought - is it to get wheelchairs through for disabled people to enjoy the walk? I know that if you are building a house now you have to make wheelchair access through all the doors. Maybe it is something to do with that.