Landowners can formally acknowledge public rights of way across their land and prevent any new paths from becoming public rights of way. This can be done under section 31(6) of the Highways Act 1980.
A register of all current declarations can be found on the Cumberland County Council and Westmorland & Furness County Council websites.
Declarations lodged after 1 October 2013 will be valid for 20 years. Any lodged before that date will be valid for 10 years, after which the declaration needs to be renewed.
It is a statutory requirement that the information must be made accessible to the public. See point 7 in our guidance notes (below) and the final page of the application form (below).
Please send us your application if it is within the Lake District National Park.
Please read our S31 Guidance Notes and then fill out Form CA16 Application Form (Word document).
Please either email the completed form to nick.thorne@lakedistrict.gov.uk
or by post to:
Lake District National Park Authority
Murley Moss
Oxenholme Road
Kendal LA9 7RL
No, Part D of Form CA16 refers to Town and Village Greens and so does not need to be completed for Section 31 deposits.
Legislation provides for a reasonable fee to be charged to cover the costs of processing such deposits. Our standard fee to accompany a deposit application is shown in our application form.
For larger applications which cover a greater area, or where there are a number of distinct parcels of land, please contact Nick Thorne, Countryside Access Adviser nick.thorne@lakedistrict.gov.uk to discuss costs.
Town and village greens: how to register which includes rights of way
