NO ENTRY .... what your opinions on this behaviour and whats your advice

Do you need the lane or do you have access to your ground from the road? Could you open a gap to work away?

I’d still chase him through the courts, but just wondering if you could work away yourself and leave him with his digger there…

What have the Guards said about this?

Call back to the station and. Ask for appointment to see the Inspector. Explain your problem to the Inspector and I suggest you’ll get a better response. I had a similar experience as you recently being told it was a “civil matter” 🤔. I met with inspector and patrol car rolled up twenty minutes later to investigate the incident. Result.

Is the Jcb close to his house that he will be happy to leave it there for an extended period?

Its amazing the wayits condition would deteriorate rapidly blocking some lanes alright

Meat factorys know their stuff and seldom do things wrong so why not follow their lead.

Whe farmers blocked their gate they took out an injunction for losses.

I'd be thinking that is your most profitable piece of land and is defo costing you 1k a week while you can't get into it.

Op said he owns one side, yer man the other so he owns out to half the lane most likely

I wouldn’t suggest that. More that of it’s not close to him to keep an eye one he will hardly leave it there long terms and the OP might be able rise above.

Does the JCB need to be moved for yer man to access aswell? Or has he easy access from the other end some way? if the battery went missing from the JCB it would be a pain in the arse for him to move it when he needs it. Of course he may then use that an an excuse to leave it there long term etc. Excalation will lead to wire getting cut, gates been left open etc.

Not a pretty situation. I would be inclined to ignore for a month and see if he gets bored.

So how do rights of way work exactly?

I would have thought if a lad had a right of way, it didn’t matter where he went once he got to the end of the right of way - but your post suggests this isn’t the case?

Why did you stop him? Was it cos he was bringing in forestry machinery or why?

In this case though, the OP said the lane is also to access the existing land they have with a long time. So how could the jcb owner justify blocking the lane now?

So you can't put up a gate inbetween field A and field B and run cattle through field A onto the right of way? That sounds a bit mad no?

“If a right of way be granted for the enjoyment of Close A, the grantee, because he owns or acquires Close B, cannot use the way in substance for passing over Close A to Close B.”

Romer LJ in Harris v Flower (1904)

In my case the forester simply didn't have a ROW for field B. But you do raise another point which comes under intensification of use. Just because someone has a ROW for agricultural activities he suddenly can't set up a different commercial activity like a quarry and use the ROW for access. Forestry comes under that banner too!

A few years ago I'd have agreed with you in that it would be a very contrary person to stop someone in that way. But I've seen the way people behave and eaten bread is soon forgotten. The courts tend to agree too as there has been cases where ones lost the court case because they couldn't prove that they were only accessing the land that they did have a ROW for not alone the new field B!!!

^^ just shows what a mine field right's of way are.

Only a minefield because folks do not understand that at the end of the day you are travelling through someone else's land when you are using a ROW. So it's only right that it cannot be intensified or used to access additional areas

A bit like conacre then?

Who’s responsible for damage to ROW, potholes etc

OP you will have to land registery to see the exact details if the ROW. It would be unusual if the lane or as shared. Usually one ownes it and the other has a ROW over it.

If it is a shared lane it may appear as a separate folio. It unlikely to appear as a line down the middle as this only entitles you to use half the lane and the other farmer the same.

Forrestery would be deemed an agricultural activity.

But your only there 20 years so did you and your neighbour voluntary give a part of land each to use as a shared roadway/access between the 2 of you

It is possible but it would not be the general run of ROW's. That is why I said check land registry. Maintenance is not shared on a ROW. It is the owner of the land that has to maintain the ROW. It's a huge issues especially if the main user is not the owner. If you have a ROW there is no liability on you to maintain it if you do not own it.

Intensity on a ROW is hard to control. Where the issue arises is where a large landbank has to be accessed, maybe 100 acres+. Us it reasonable that someone still has to access it with a horse and cart. At the same time ROW'S are defined by width and access points. You cannot interfere with these. But neither can you be denied reasonable access over a ROW.

Usually the cheque book is not the issue it's that access.

<Mod snip> It is not the owner of the land who has to maintain the ROW it is the owner of the ROW. It is established in common law that the servient owner (that is the land owner) is under no obligation to maintain it. If someone with a right to use the roadway (“the dominant owner”) wants it mended, it is up to them not the underlying land owner.

It is common enough that many ROWs are divided down the center or passing over a single owner or combinations of them. The case you are portraying of a ROW over a single landowner is not that common for older ROWs. Often many farms share the same lane.

Looking at the land registry will not necessarily tell you anything. A ROW does not have to be registered or recorded to exist. The ROW does not have to be registered on the folio it is on, it could be registered on the folio of the owner of the ROW.

A ROW is a type of easement. Just because you have an easement to travel along a laneway does not grant you automatic entitlement to get other types of easements such as watermains, telecom etc

Id say water public water mains is a essential service like the ESB ...not too sure do they need a easement to put down a underground water pipe.... telecoms do but they all mostly private operators now