Who is liable for public access routes?

[MrsB]

Hello.

I am considering buying some woodland to use as our very own private campsite/nature reserve and i just have some things i'd like to have clarified if possible:

Can you set up phyiscal boundaries?

If there are public rights of way or bridleways or whatever, do i have to maintain them? Can i reroute them?

What happens if someone is injured because a bridge collapses or something like that? Am i liable?

Can i park a car or two on the land while visiting?

Can permanent structures be put onto the land such as a shed or a tree house or a static caravan?

Can you create your own access routes?

Thanks

[Stephen1]

MrsB

"Can you set up physical boundaries?"

Technically yes - but think how awful it would be if every wood that was bought and cut up into little pieces was suddenly riven with fences? Owning woodland is very different from owning a property on Acacia Avenue. "You can fence yourself in, but you can't fence the world out."

"...Public rights of way.."

You are responsible for overhanging vegetation - branches etc. - but the council is responsible for maintaing the surface - unless you damage it (extracting timber etc.) in which case they will ensure you rectify the problem. No you can't reroute them!!

"...someone is injured..."

You are responsible for injuries due to man made structures and if you can be shown to have been negligent in the case of natural hazards. The risk of someone successfully suing you over a natural hazard is much less than the insurance companies would have you believe - negligence has to be proved.

"...park a car..."

Yes.

"...permanent structures.."

Certain structures are allowed- google "permitted development forestry". You can expect a shed to be allowed - you would need a fairly large woodland to justify that a static caravan was "reasonably necessary". Technically tree houses are not allowed - they represent a "change of use" to leisure - I have never heard of anyone having problems from planning departments over tree houses though.

"..access routes.."

Again this comes under permitted development, and so if you can demonstrate that the track is reasonably necessary then you will be allowed to make it. If there is already access to your woodland and you just want a private access then you would be refussed on the grounds that is isn't "reasonably necessary" -even if you have a contractual right from the vendor to make an access track over adjacent land this would still have to be agreed to by the planning department.

[davetb]

I built an 8 foot square tree-house in our woods for the kids but prefer to think of it as a 'deer stalking' platform, just in case at a future date we decide to stalk deer. It therefore has a 'reasonable forestry use'. As I understand it the council would have to discover it, prove that it isn't used for deer stalking and decide it is in the public interest to prosecute.

I agree with the above reply except I think its ok to stay in temporary accommodation for 28 days a year. A static caravan qualifies as temporary - as it has wheels - according to the Ben Laws account of his battle with his planners.

Good Luck, Dave Howells

[tracy]

Hi Mrs B

You will find some useful information on PROW in the newsletters, Feb, March and April.

Here is the link to Feb.

http://www.swog.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/swog-newsletter-feb-10.pdf

The rest are in the newsletter section.

There is also a guide to sheds in the resources section. As mentioned above, you would need to prove the structures are reasonably necessary for forestry purposes. Hope this helps!

Tracy

[Stephen1]

Hi Dave

With Caravans (static or ordinary) it's all about what you use them for. If you are 'storing' your caravan there - then no problem at all, no need even for prior notification. If you are going to spend less than 28 nights a year in them - with not more than two consecutively - then again no problem.

The issue I had in mind is when you want to stay in them for longer periods of time and you are going down the "seasonal accomodation for workers" route. I did that 10 years ago. The thing that most interested the planning folk then was the size of the wood (to justify how much work was needed and how long it could be expected to take)- they were not concerned after that how long I stayed there that year, as they themselves took the approach that the precedents were that a "season" was merely less than a year. They were very happy for me to be my own seasonal worker i.e. it didn't matter that it wasn't contractors staying in the caravan seasonally as the regulations envisiged- just whoever was actually doing the work.

[Darren]

I think you have to own over 5 acres to have a "caravan" on site. There is a legal definition of a caravan and it doesn't need to have wheels. One of those pre-fab two part houses is classed as a caravan just as long as it's under a certain size.

Where we don't have a bank and ditch on our borders we have put in a few stakes.

[Exeldama]

All good advice . The only addition would be on the movement of public footpaths and bridleways... You are able to apply for such to be varied. However the cost would be around £2000 and once the submission is made the application goes up for others views. If a single genuine and reasonable objection is raised it will almost certainly fail. So.... what you could do if your wood had one is to manage it to keep people on it...ie plant some good wildlife hedges along the edges..hawthorn and the like..nature wil love it and people wont wander so much as it gives a clearly defined boundary.