Parking spaces designated as public highway

[VillageParkingQuestion]

In my village there's an issue which has come to a head about some parking spaces.

Apparently a few years ago Highways designated that odd shaped WK block as public highway. However, since the 1970s those spaces have been assigned to people living in the row of houses at the top of the photo. People who own those houses believe they have 2 tandem spaces (4 houses x 2 spaces) and that is what their deeds say. Those houses have changed hands since originally purchased and as far as I know no conveyancer has identified that the parking spaces are not theirs to park in.

Parking on that road is difficult as there are more houses than spaces (village with poor buses so many more need cars these days). Residents contacted Highways to ask if a parking bay (just out of sight at the bottom of the photo) could be amended to allow cars to park end on rather than side on and allow more cars to park. In investigating this, Highways spotted the numbered tandem spaces in the middle, consulted their records and said anyone should be able to park there as it's designated public highway, even if the spaces are included in people's deeds. The parish council has been told by Highways that any piece of land can be designated public highway no matter who owns it and Highways can tell the owner what can and can't be done with that piece of land. Is that correct?

I'm not one of the people affected but I'm in contact with those who are affected and really feel for them. Can Highways really tell residents they don't have exclusive rights over parking spaces they own on their deeds?

(I have noted the difference in shape between the original shape and the parking spaces as they are today, including the clear tarmac discolouration which supports the fact the bay has been altered to support an extra space. However it's the spirit of the legalities I'm interested in)

not sure but you could also post on GardenLaw.co.uk where there are experts on this kind of thing.

I have no ‘knowledge’ , but a bit of googling reveals this document which talks about ‘adopting’ highways and on Page 25 it talks about how the council may adopt land connected to a highway after works (changing shape of the area ? ). It looks like it says that the council have to check ownership, especially with adjacent property owners. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62e7b821d3bf7f75b9121a6a/advice-note-highways-adoption.pdf

I also recommend posting on Garden Law forum, there are some incredibly knowledgeable people on there, no disrespect to MN but Garden Law has specialist forums on this sort of stuff.

That looks like a Land Registry Plan, start by requesting the register for the land in question. The title number starts WK4.
https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds
This should show who owns the land.

@Sisterpita I downloaded this from Land Registry but it's not the ownership I have a query about. It's what Highways are legally entitled to enforce regarding the owners' usage of the land.

Understood it’s just the rights maybe set out in the deeds e.g. covenants.

I think the Highways Authority is responsible for the surface of all of the road and is mandated to keep it open for all users @VillageParkingQuestion This is likely to be the position because of public liability. What would the owners do if they were negligent (with the surface) and a negligence claim arose? Surely the best option is to negotiate for residents parking permits? As far as I’m aware, bridleway are often privately owned but can be maintained by a Highways Authority for safety reasons. I can see the dilemma but not sure “ownership” is the full picture. Highways laws might well override this on an otherwise adopted road.

Highways wrote to my dad asking if he wanted them to adopt a road in front of six houses that he owned. He said yes, because it benefitted him - the road was pot-holed and awful. They installed street lighting, resurfaced the road, replaced pavements and kerbs. They are now responsible for its upkeep: it is no longer privately owned.

This parking zone’s surface looks identical to the highway that it comes off.

They can’t just adopt private roads and turn them into part of the highway without informing owners!

As per a post above. The local authority will have , I think it’s a section 38 agreement, if the above has happened.

Apologies , it’s not a section 38 Agreement.

Yes the owners should be told the Highway Authority have adopted the parking area but this might have happened years ago. Who has been maintaining the parking bays? It’s slightly odd the HA has bothered given there is an entrance to the spaces but it could be from the view of safety as the cars enter the road. Does it really matter?

We owned to the centre of the road in a previous house, the road was adopted by Highways when it was built in the 90s. They owned something like the top couple of feet so they could maintain it. It was block paved but weirdly we owned to the centre as did all the other houses.

Definitely post on Garden Law forum, brilliant site with lots of contributors.