Introduction
1. This advice note is about the signposting and waymarking of public rights of way. ‘Signposting’ refers to the placing of a direction post where a public right of way leaves a tarmaced road. ‘Waymarking’ refers to the placing of arrows or other marks at points along the route of a right of way so that users can follow it accurately and confidently in places where there might otherwise be difficulty.
2. Highway authorities (county councils or unitary authorities) have a legal duty to erect and maintain a signpost at every point where a right of way leaves a tarmaced road. Section 27 of the Countryside Act 1968 gave highway authorities this duty but did not set a date by which the duty had to be complied with; hence, the number of unsignposted rights of way. A signpost must indicate the right of way's status; it may also say where it leads to and give distances if the highway authority considers it appropriate.
3. A highway authority is relieved of its duty if it considers a sign to be unnecessary at a particular point, provided the local council (i.e the parish, town, or community council) agrees. By withholding its agreement, the local council can thus require the authority to carry out the duty.
Waymarking
4. Section 27 of the Countryside Act 1968 also requires highway authorities to place such signs along a path or way ‘as may in the opinion of the authority be required to assist persons unfamiliar with the locality’ to follow the route.
5. A highway authority must consult the landowner before waymarking; but the requirement is to consult, not to obtain the landowner’s consent: the landowner does not have a veto over waymarking. The exception is if the highway authority wishes to fix a waymark on a thing belonging to the landowner (i.e. a tree or a wall on the landowner's property); in these cases it will need to obtain the landowner’s permission. If permission is not forthcoming, the authority has the power to erect signposts in the path surface.
Practical work
6. Under section 27 of the Countryside Act 1968 a highway authority can give permission for other persons to erect and maintain signs. Many individuals and organisations, including the Ramblers' Assocation, avail themselves of this permission, preventing accidental trespass and increasing users’ enjoyment of the countryside by enabling them to follow paths accurately and confidently.
7. Under section 57 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 it is an offence for any person to put up a notice on or near a right of way if the notice contains false or misleading information likely to deter people from using the public right of way. The section covers cases where the landowner puts up a sign saying ‘Danger, fierce dogs’ and either there are no dogs or they do not have access to the path (if they do, the sign will not be misleading).
8. The magistrates may impose a fine by way of penalty; they may also order the notice’s removal, and impose a continuing fine for failure to comply. It is the duty of the highway authority to initiate prosecution under this section; prosecutions can be brought by them or a district council, but not by a parish/community council or a private individual.
9. Some rights of way run over private roads, where landowners sometimes put up signs saying ‘Private Road’ or ‘Private Drive’. The courts have not decided if this is a misleading statement likely to the public using the right of way. Probably the best way of dealing with the situation is for the highway authority to erect a signpost near the owner’s notice, making it clear that the public has a right of way also.
10. Under section 132 of the Highways Act 1980 it is an offence to paint, inscribe or affix (without lawful authority or reasonable excuse) any picture, letter, sign or other mark upon the surface of any right of way or upon any tree, structure or works. A highway authority has the power to remove such a sign or do the works themselves and recover the cost.
Rights of Way: A Guide to Law and Practice,John Riddall and John Trevelyan, Open Spaces Society and the Ramblers’ Association, 2007.
Footpaths––a practical handbook, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.
