Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

48 Restricted byway rights. E+W

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the public shall have restricted byway rights over any way which, immediately before the commencement of section 47, is shown in a definitive map and statement as a road used as a public path.

(2) Subsection (1) has effect subject to the operation of any enactment or instrument (whether coming into operation before or after the commencement of section 47), and to the effect of any event otherwise within section 53(3)(a) of the 1981 Act, whereby a highway—

(a) is authorised to be stopped up, diverted, widened or extended, or

(b) becomes a public path;

and subsection (1) applies accordingly to any way as so diverted, widened or extended.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to any way, or part of a way, over which immediately before the commencement of section 47 there was no public right of way.

(4) In this Part—

• “restricted byway rights” means—

  (a)

  a right of way on foot,

  (b)

  a right of way on horseback or leading a horse, and

  (c)

  a right of way for vehicles other than mechanically propelled vehicles; and

• “restricted byway” means a highway over which the public have restricted byway rights, with or without a right to drive animals of any description along the highway, but no other rights of way.

(5) A highway at the side of a river, canal or other inland navigation is not excluded from the definition of “restricted byway” in subsection (4) merely because the public have a right to use the highway for purposes of navigation, if the highway would fall within that definition if the public had no such right over it.

(6) Subsection (1) is without prejudice to any question whether the public have over any way, in addition to restricted byway rights, a right of way for mechanically propelled vehicles or any other right.

(7) In subsections (4) and (6) “mechanically propelled vehicle” does not include a vehicle falling within paragraph (c) of section 189(1) of the M1 Road Traffic Act 1988.

(8) Every surveying authority shall take such steps as they consider expedient for bringing to the attention of the public the effect of section 47(2) and this section.

(9) The powers conferred by section 103(5) must be so exercised as to secure that nothing in section 47 or this section affects the operation of section 53 or 54 of, or Schedule 14 or 15 to, the 1981 Act in relation to—

(a) a relevant order made before the commencement of section 47, or

(b) an application made before that commencement for a relevant order.

(10) In subsection (9) “relevant order” means an order which relates to a way shown in a definitive map and statement as a road used as a public path and which—

(a) is made under section 53 of the 1981 Act and contains modifications relating to that way by virtue of subsection (3)(c)(ii) of that section, or

(b) is made under section 54 of the 1981 Act.

(11) Where—

(a) by virtue of an order under subsection (3) of section 103 (“the commencement order”) containing such provision as is mentioned in subsection (5) of that section, an order under Part III of the 1981 Act (“the Part III order”) takes effect, after the commencement of section 47, in relation to any way which, immediately before that commencement, was shown in a definitive map and statement as a road used as a public path,

(b) the commencement order does not prevent subsection (1) from having effect on that commencement in relation to that way, and

(c) if the Part III order had taken effect before that commencement, that way would not have fallen within subsection (1),

all rights over that way which exist only by virtue of subsection (1) shall be extinguished when the Part III order takes effect.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 48 in force at 2.5.2006 for E. by S.I. 2006/1172, art. 2(b) (with art. 3)

I2 S. 48 in force at 11.5.2006 for W. by S.I. 2006/1279, art. 2(b) (with art. 3)

Marginal Citations

M1 1988 c. 52.