Legal Event Orders
From GPG
Unless a combined order (which may be made only by highway authorities) is used to create, extinguish or change the route of a public right of way, a separate process will be needed to alter the Definitive Map and Statement to reflect that change. This process is generally known as a Legal Event Modification Order and is an Order made by the Surveying Authority under S53(3)(a) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. There is, in theory at least, no limit to the age of a properly made legal event that can be included on the definitive map in this way — a situation which can cause confusion, especially as the Legal Event Modification Order process does not require public consultation.
What constitutes a Legal Event?
The events which require the making of a separate Legal Event Modification Order are listed in Section 53(3)(a) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. These relate to the coming into operation of any enactment or instrument or any other event whereby:
i) a highway shown or required to be shown in the map and statement has been authorised to be stopped up, diverted, widened or extended;
ii) a highway shown or required to be shown in the map and statement as a highway of a particular description has ceased to be a highway of that description; or
iii) a new right of way has been created over land in the area to which the map relates, being a right of way such that the land over which the right subsists is a public path;
Where these have come into operation, the Surveying Authority is required to make a legal event modification order as soon as reasonably practicable after the occurrence of the event. In addition Legal Event Modification Orders should be made for any events that took place prior to the commencement of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
In practical terms the types of event that might be encountered include:
- Public Path Orders made under the Highways Act (diversions, creations and extinguishments)
- Town and County Planning Act orders
- Side Roads orders
- Magistrates' Court stopping up, diversion and downgrading orders
- Creation agreements and dedications
The procedure, designed to encompass events that took place prior to the commencement of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, is open-ended with regard to the age of legal events which are included. In theory, therefore, any legal event for which there is sufficient proof, could be included on the Definitive Map irrespective of the length of its dormancy. In practice, however, a surveying authority will no doubt consider the implications, not least for a landowner, of a long-forgotten route appearing overnight on the definitive map and statement. In potentially sensitive cases the option is still open to authorities to make a conventional Definitive Map Modification Order using S53 3(b) and (c) — a process which includes ample opportunity for forewarning through the consultation provisions.
Processing Legal Event Orders and Omnibus Legal Event Orders
Legal Event Orders are prepared in the same format as S53 b) and c) orders. As they simply record events that have already taken place, legal events orders do not have to be advertised, are not subject to objections and take effect as soon as they are made.
Perhaps the most significant procedural question to be addressed by Surveying Authorities is whether to process Legal Event Modification Orders individually as events occur, or to batch them and process a single legal event encompassing all events at a later stage — commonly known as an Omnibus Legal Event Order. Although batching is an advantage for those who actually have to process the orders, this approach introduces the potential for an additional lag between changes actually taking effect and appearing on Definitive Maps. This is of particular relevance with regard to the Land Charge search process which can include only concluded changes to the Definitive Map. The argument against batching is confined more to issues of unit cost for each order placed onto the map.
Consolidation of the Definitive Map and Statement
Consolidation of the Definitive Map and Statement is a process that involves publishing a new map and statement inclusive of all legal events that have occurred to date. For many authorities this means making a batch 'Omnibus' Legal Event Order. Once an up-to-date map and statement has been produced, authorities choose variously to make a Legal Event Order at the time of each subsequent order, or annually, biannually, after ten orders — whatever is most appropriate for both the number of orders confirmed each year and the potential effect on Land Charges by not having a conclusive map and statement.
Authorities using an integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) containing both mapping and order data may have a semi-automated process where as soon as a public path order is confirmed, selected text and mapping from the database, as used for the order, are inserted in a template for the legal event order. This is then added to a file to be included in an Omnibus Legal Event Order at the designated time. Such a process saves considerable time and effort and makes publication of batch orders easy and efficient, as well as eliminating many errors.
