Schedule 14 Application for PROW on House

KingWoollard

Hi guys, perhaps a long shot but just looking for a bit of advice. We are in the process of buying a new build house through a small local developer. We agreed a price about 2 months back and were just waiting for the solicitors to sort everything out and for the house to be finished. We were expecting to complete within the next few weeks.


We got a surprise email from the solicitors last week to say that there is an outstanding 'schedule 14 application' for a public right of way straight through the middle of the house. The builder had neglected to tell us this, or that as part of the planning application he had had to provide provisions in case the council ever rule on this application. The provisions would be to take land back from us and run a path down the side of the house.


The claim goes back to 2001 and is classed as a "weak" claim on the council website, but having the prospect of the council demanding land back from us and putting a public right of way basically through our front and back garden is concerning to say the least, for security as well as house value.


Has anybody got any experience of this sort of thing, and how likely is it to happen? It seems ridiculous that something could hang over the land for 15 years (and counting) without a resolution. You'd have thought it would have been resolved when they gave him planning permission, but that would be too much common sense. I think the chance of the council ever deeming it a PROW is slim, but its still a risk.


Any advice would be welcome.

lincroft1710

You mentioned the people you should be speaking to in the 3rd sentence of your 1st paragraph - solicitors. You are paying them for legal advice, get them to investigate the Sch 14 and see if it can be quashed.

Freecall

lincroft1710 is of course correct, this is exactly what you employ a solicitor for - in order to seek out these issues and put things right.

Having said that, from knowledge of the mechanics of local government it may well be worthwhile having a word with the LPA. When PROW issues are resolved, council officers do not then go back and look at existing planning consents to see if they were impacted by a PROW decision.

There will be a PROW officer at your council who should be able to put you straight and clarify whether there remain any outstanding issues - hopefully not. Ring the main council office and ask to speak with the PROW officer.

AdrianC

Schedule 14 is an appeal against a decision. https://www.gov.uk/appeal-right-of-way-decision/when-you-can-appeal

So there's very likely to have been a RoW there before the building work. An application to close or move the RoW would've been successful, but has been appealed - and it's the appeal that's hanging around, unresolved.

You need to do some more paperwork to find out what's really going on. Or, a far easier solution, don't buy this house, and leave the grief to the developer.

By the way - the existence of a RoW doesn't "take land back from you" - it's still your land. It's just that the public have a legal right to use it to go from A to B, without it being blocked.

eddddy

KingWoollard wrote: »

The claim goes back to 2001 and is classed as a "weak" claim on the council website...

... I think the chance of the council ever deeming it a PROW is slim, but its still a risk.

Are you sure you've got that the right way round?

I would interpret that as meaning the chances of the appeal succeeding are "weak". (So it will stay as a PROW.)

But I'm sure that your solicitor can clarify.

Freecall

We don't yet have enough information to know for sure so we are guessing somewhat but I am not so sure that this is the case.

AdrianC wrote: »

...... and it's the appeal that's hanging around, unresolved.

I would have thought it more likely that the application was made to move the PROW (by the then landowner) and refused. This was subsequently appealed and given that a developer purchased the site and developed it, I would think that the appeal was upheld.

The point is that planning is a separate process and although the PROW issue would have shown up when the council did its searches, it does not automatically follow that it remains unresolved.

What is needed is copies of the relevant paperwork. The easiest way to get this is to ask the PROW officer.

Fuzzyness

sounds messy. moving PROWs is possible but it can be difficult and by the sounds of it, the intention to divert the existing PROW wasnt sucessful. speak to the PROW officer at the Council to get chapter and verse on what happened.