Public rights of way: new rights of way arising through long use in England

This Business Guide explains how new PRoW (public rights of way) can be created through the public’s long use of a route, and what landowners can do to prevent this.

The information in this Business Guide relates to the law in England. We have a separate Business Guide for claims for new rights of way in Wales, Business Guide 401W “Public rights of way: preventing new rights of way arising through long use in Wales”.

Where claims are made concerning the reinstatement of a PRoW based on historic evidence, please see Business Guide 402 “Public rights of way: the law on unrecorded historic rights of way”.