animals on right of way

[sellotape2021]

hi all, wasn't sure where else to put this but need some advice if possible before contacting solicitor.

parents have a right of way through a field attached to their house. the deeds state that basically they have a right to use the right of way whenever they want to via vehicles or walking.
this has been fine up to now as the landowner hasn't had any stock in the field and just used it for hay.
there was a gate on my parents property that led into the field where the right of way is. the gate rotted and my parents never bothered replacing it. it was their gate.

the landowner died and left it to his son who has now decided he wants to keep cattle on there and has told my parents that they have illegally removed the gate which leads onto the field and unless they replace it he has no choice but to erect electric fence (which would block my parents right of way access) so my dad will now have to replace the gate to prevent this.

the other issue is if there are cattle in the field and onto the right of way how will they be able to use the right of way when the cattle will be on there? they don't know anything about cattle and it would be dangerous to try and move them out of the way and what happens if they accidentally let them our whilst opening the main field gate?

can they insist the field is fenced off leaving the right of way empty even though the land doesn't belong to them?

your parents will need to replace the gate, they have a right of way, not exclusive access. Cattle aren't stupid, they will quickly learn that your parents travel through the field, but don't feed them, so they'll ignore them.

Maybe pop a post on garden law forum as they have a wealth of knowledge on these things.

You could try legal section in here OP. But I can't see how you'd get anywhere trying to restrict the owner using their own paddocks for cattle. He's not stopping access to the right of way, he's just using it for a purpose your parents don't feel comfortable with, but that wouldn't be considered a threat to their safety. Electric fencing is relatively cheap where I live and easy to put gates in. So I don't think him saying he's going to put an electric fence across to cover a gap from a gate your parents haven't maintained is unreasonable either. A gate or cattle grid will be cheaper and a lot less stress than fighting this out in court.

thanks all - i managed to speak with a specialist solicitor at lunchtime and for the record my parents haven't done anything illegal by removing the gate - its the farmers responsibility to keep the cattle from escaping not the other way around but he can't permanently block the entrance off with electric fencing or any other type of fencing, and if the cattle prove to be in the way when driving in and out they can make him insist on putting a gate further up to prevent this happening - just incase anyone wanders on this thread in the future with a similar problem :-)

It won't come to this (hopefully) as they are putting the gate there this week but incase he starts ranting again or making it difficult for them to use the ROW at least they now know where they stand.

Thanks for the update OP. I always thought (wrongly, apparently) that it was up to an owner to maintain a gate etc. bordering a field to keep life stock out, not the farm owner.
Everyday is a school day.

This sounds similar to the access to my house; the field we access our property through often has cattle in it and it's never been a problem. They are placid and just wander out of the way when we need to get past. We've always taken responsibility for maintaining the fence and gate to our property too.

Electric fencing can be fitted with a handle to make a gate, so he may not have been intending to block it permanently. Getting a gate fitted should help to calm the situation, the cattle may be curious about a car, but they are easily shooed away. Hopefully everything will be fine, it is the farmers responsibility to contain livestock and as the owner he will have strict liability for any escapees.

This really isn’t a problem. I drive over 4 cattle grids and through 3 fields to access my house. Cows and sheep are the usual totally trouble-free occupants but we had a season of rare breed goats who were more stubborn. The road can get quite mucky, particularly in the winter so you should abandon any ambitions for a clean car.