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How to find out find out if lane has public right of way?

  • 02-02-2019 6:22pm
    #1
    augusta24
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 633 ✭✭✭


    Hi everyone,

    My parents are giving me a site with a view to build on it. The site has the ruins of an old house and so we hope this will help me get planning permission more easily.

    However, the site used to be an old farmyard that was down a very long lane. This long lane originally passed by the house and lead back down to another road (decades ago but the second half has long since grown over). So essentially, right now half of it leads up to the house from one road- this half is not suitable for cars but tractors could drive up it. Then the other half of it leads back down to another road but this is completely over grown and not passable. I think decades ago the house used to have two entrances from both of the roads as it was a farm.

    I’m wondering now if there’s a chance this laneway could be a public right of way? There are no other houses on it and the public never try to use it because you can’t actually go the whole way through down to the other road as second half is so overgrown.

    How would we find out if there would be any right of way issues on this? Are public rights of way registered anywhere or would we need to just get out the maps to see if it’s written on them?!

    The reason I want to check this out is because if I do end up building there I would want to put gates up at the main entrance off the road onto the lane and I’m not sure if that would be legal if there is some public right to use it??

    Many thanks!


Comments

  • #2
    4ensic15
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,691 ✭✭✭4ensic15


    Have you got title deeds for the lane including the lane? Check them for mentions of a right of way. That is the first thing to do.


  • #3
    augusta24
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 633 ✭✭✭augusta24


    4ensic15 wrote: »
    Have you got title deeds for the lane including the lane? Check them for mentions of a right of way. That is the first thing to do.

    I’ll check with the parents. They think they do but I’m not so sure now. In person, the lane looks as though it’s actually part of one of our fields but I’m wondering now if that’s the case at all and could it actually be technically not part of our property even though we own the land on either side of it and in person it actually looks like it’s just in one of the fields (it runs along the ditch of one field and then there isn’t a ditch on the other side of it).


  • #4
    4ensic15
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,691 ✭✭✭4ensic15


    You can look at the land registry site online and see the folios and the different parcels of land. That should give you some indication if the lane is in your parents' ownership.


  • #5
    nuac
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,769 ✭✭✭nuac


    Mod
    Rights of way issues can be complicated. Facts may be hard to ascertaiin E.g. the Lissadell saga. Read those High Court and Supreme Court reports
    Instruct your solicitor to examine the relevant documents, maps etc and to investigate fully the the extent of prior user.
    Be aware that in a rural area a careful solicitor might visit e.g. four different houses in course of enquiries. May get four different versions. That can be for a variety reasons e.g. disputes going back to times of the Land Wars.
    Will leave open for general discussion subject to forum rule on legal advice


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