Public rights of way are highways protected by law. To divert or close a right of way you need to apply for a public path order.

A right of way can only be diverted or closed if either:

• it's necessary to allow development (if planning permission has been granted)
• the diversion benefits the landowner/occupier
• the diversion benefits the public
• the path is not used by the public (closure only) - this is rare and difficult to achieve

When diverting or closing a public right of way, any alternative or new path should be just as convenient for the public as the existing path.

Charges

There's a charge to temporarily or permanently divert or close a public right of way. Details of these charges are in the application form. We'll send you an invoice to make the payment after receiving your application.

Apply for a temporary diversion or closure

If you're a contractor or a landowner you can ask us to temporarily divert or close a public right of way. This can last between one day and six months, to allow site works to be carried out safely or for an event. Extensions may be possible, but you'd need to apply for a further closure order.

To apply to temporarily divert or close a public right of way, fill in and return our temporary diversion or closure form.

You need to apply at least four weeks before your intended diversion or closure date.

Apply for a permanent diversion or closure

You can also ask us to permanently divert or close a public right of way as long as your application for this meets relevant legal tests. For diversions you also need to make sure there's a suitable diversion route.

Simple diversion orders usually take at least six months from application to confirmation, but it can take longer if objections are received.

Before you submit an application, contact us online to discuss your proposals. After our initial discussion, fill in and return our permanent diversion or closure form. You should also read our permanent closure or diversion guidance notes before submitting your application.

What happens next

After applying for a permanent diversion or closure we'll consult the relevant stakeholders. This is to identify any potential problems and reduce the risk of objections to the application. This consultation period is four weeks, but can be longer if changes are made.

The application is then considered by our Planning Regulatory Board, who determine whether it will be accepted or not. If a diversion application is linked to development work, planning consent must be granted before it can be considered by the board.

If your application is accepted, we'll publish a public path order. Notice of the order is placed in the local newspaper and on site. Formal consultations are then carried out for four weeks.

If we receive any objections, we'll try to help you reach a solution. If the objections are withdrawn, we'll confirm the order. If no solution can be found we'll send all the relevant information to the Planning Inspectorate to reach a final decision. A public inquiry may also be needed.

When an order has successfully passed through the consultation period and any new routes have been constructed, we'll inspect the site. If the new route is suitable for public use, we'll publish a confirmation order (six weeks). If the new routes on the ground don't match those in the order, a further diversion will be needed.