Legislation and Policy
Any application for a PPO must meet the tests laid out in the relevant legislation.
i) A path can be diverted under section 119 of the Highway Act 1980 if it is in the interests of the public, owner, occupier or lessee (i.e. non-planning related)
ii) A path can be diverted under section 257 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in order to allow development to take place (i.e. planning related)
The legislation contains other legal tests which must also be met and taken into consideration. The Authority will also consider any application in relation to its PPO Policy; the Policy identifies a number of additional criteria against which any application will be judged including connectivity, safety, equalities impact, status, gaps & gates, width, gradients. features of interest and maintenance. Information about extinguishing a right of way can be found here but it should be noted that the Council does not generally support applications for extinguishment orders unless they are part of a wider package with compensating public benefit.