Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Highway authority definition

What does Highway authority mean? In legal practice, a highway authority is the public body responsible for maintaining and managing the public highway network. In England and Wales it is defined in legislation, chiefly the Highways Act 1980: county councils, metropolitan district and London borough councils are highway authorities for most roads; Transport for London is highway authority for certain London roads; the strategic highways company (National Highways), under the Infrastructure Act 2015, is highway authority for motorways and trunk roads in England, and the Welsh Ministers for trunk roads in Wales. Key features include the section 41 duty to maintain highways maintainable at public expense...

Procedure for modifying the Definitive Map: applications, evidence and order confirmation (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Local Government expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note

This Practice Note outlines the statutory obligation on the relevant Authority, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA 1981), to maintain the Definitive Map in continual review. It sets out the circumstances that may justify a modification, and indicates who will commonly seek a modification order. It also describes how to make a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO), highlighting the proper form, the supporting material required, and the decision-making steps taken by the Definitive Map authority. The subsequent formal steps after a DMMO are also covered, identifying which authority must carry out each task. The purpose of the Definitive Map and Statement (‘Definitive Map’) of public rights of way, and allied matters, is that it is conclusive. Yet, despite its definitive status, it is not immutable. The local Highway authority (the County Council or a Unitary District council) has an ongoing duty to keep the Definitive Map under constant review. Reasons to alter the Definitive Map include:

that a Public right of way has arisen,
that a route has been lawfully changed or closed,
or that an entry ought never to have appeared at all on the Map...

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Nicholas Hancox

Nicholas Hancox Solicitors

Nicholas qualified in 1977. He specialises in Education Law, Local Government Law and Highways Law and has been authoring and editing for LexisNexis since 2000....

Piers Riley-Smith

Kings Chambers

Piers has a varied planning, environment, licensing and highways practice. Piers is ranked in Chambers and Partners 2023 where Clients have said: " Piers Riley-Smith is a strong planning junior”“An enthusiastic and excellent communicator as an advocate, and within the professional team.”Piers is ranked in the Legal 500 as a “Rising Star” and is noted as being “approachable and fully committed to the job in hand, providing good advice and giving a very positive impression to clients.’Planning and EnvironmentHe is regularly instructed by local authorities, developers and the wider public in planning inquiries. He has also been instructed by both local authorities and developers at local plan and neighborhood plan exams. He appears in the High Court and Court of Appeal on behalf of local authorities, and private companies or developers, and local resident groups. He also accepts pro bono briefs from the...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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