National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949

44 Exercise of powers of making diversion and extinguishment orders

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the powers of making diversion orders and extinguishment orders conferred by the two last foregoing sections shall not be exercisable—

(a) by the council of a rural district except with the consent of the county council and, if the county council is not the local planning authority, the consent of that authority;

(b) by the council of any other county district, except with the consent of the local planning authority;

(c) by the council of a county borough, not being the local planning authority, except with the consent of that authority; and

(d) by any local authority as respects a path, or part of a path, in a National Park, except after consultation with the Commission.

(2) Where a public path lies partly within and partly outside a county borough or county district, the powers conferred by the two last foregoing sections on the council of the county borough or county district, as the case may be, shall extend to the whole of the path as if the path lay wholly within their area :

Provided that, in relation to so much of the path as lies outside the area of the council, the said powers shall not be exercisable—

(a) as respects any part of the path in a rural district, except with the consent of the council of that district and of the county council, and, if that county council is not the local planning authority, the consent of that authority;

(b) as respects any part of the path in any other county district, except with the consent of the council of that district and the consent of the local planning authority; and

(c) as respects any part of the path in a county borough, except with the consent of the council of the county borough and, if that council is not the local planning authority, the consent of that authority.

(3) The Minister, on the application of the council of a county, may direct, either generally or as respects the diversion or stopping up of a particular public path or part thereof, that the powers conferred by the two last foregoing sections or either of them (including those powers as extended by the last foregoing subsection) on the council of a county district specified in the direction, being a district in the county in question, shall be exercisable by the county council and shall not be exercisable by the council of the county district.

(4) A county council exercising a power by virtue of a direction under the last foregoing subsection shall consult the local planning authority, where that authority is a joint board, but shall not be required to obtain the consent of the board to the exercise of the power:

Provided that a county council shall not exercise any such power as aforesaid as respects so much of a public path as lies in another county except with the consent of the council of that county and, if the last mentioned council is not the local planning authority, the consent of that authority.

(5) Where an owner, lessee or occupier of land crossed by a public path satisfies the Minister that a diversion thereof is expedient as mentioned in subsection (1) of the last but one foregoing section, or where it appears to the Minister as respects a public path that it is expedient as mentioned in subsection (1) of the last foregoing section that the path or part thereof should be stopped up, then if—

(a) the appropriate authority have not made and submitted to him a diversion order or an extinguishment order, as the case may be, and

(b) the Minister is satisfied that, if such an order were made and submitted to him, he would have power to confirm the order in accordance with the provisions in that behalf of the two last foregoing sections,

the Minister, after consultation with the said authority, may direct the authority to make and submit to him a diversion order or an extinguishment order, as the case may be, or may himself make the order; and where the Minister gives a direction under this subsection, the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, of that subsection and of the proviso to subsection (2) of this section, or the proviso to the last foregoing subsection, as the case may be, shall not apply.

(6) A council proposing to make a diversion order such that the authority who will be the highway authority in respect of any part of the path after the diversion will be a different body from the existing highway authority in respect thereof shall, before making the order, notify the first-mentioned authority.

(7) In subsection (5) of this section the expression " the appropriate authority," in relation to the making of a diversion order or an extinguishment order, means the authority upon whom power to make the order (whether the power is exercisable with the consent of any other authority or not) is conferred by or under the relevant provisions of the two last foregoing sections and of subsections (2) and (3) of this section.