Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Ownership definition

What does Ownership mean? In legal practice, ownership describes who has the bundle of rights over property: to possess, use, enjoy income, exclude others, transfer, or charge it, subject to law and third‑party rights (such as easements/servitudes, leases and security interests). It is a descriptive expression used across contexts (land, goods, shares, intellectual property), rather than a single statutory definition, though related concepts are defined in legislation and case law (for example, beneficial ownership in anti‑money laundering/PSC regimes and land registration rules). Across England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, lawyers commonly distinguish legal ownership (title shown on a register, deed or share register) from...

Highway Drains and Culverts: Ownership, Construction, Maintenance, Liability and Discharge Consents (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Environment expert

Practice notes

Highway drain

For the purposes of section 100 of the Highways Act 1980, a ‘highway drain’ is taken to encompass a ditch, gutter, watercourse, soak-away, bridge, culvert, tunnel or pipe. Yet, to qualify as such, it must have been built to convey away surface water from a road, and that was the purpose for which it was constructed. A ‘highway drain’ is not a sewer because it is not employed for draining buildings or yards, though it may become one if its role comes to include draining those premises. When a dispute arises about the character of a pipe, the decisive question is: for what purpose was the pipe installed? The same approach applies where there is disagreement over whether a feature is a land drain or a highway drain, and the analysis is identical. The point is determined by asking whether, viewed against all the facts, the drain’s function is to drain a highway or to drain agricultural land, on the facts as a whole. Where a ditch runs alongside a highway, the presumption is that it is not part of the highway but is owned by the neighbouring landowner. That presumption can be displaced by proof that the land...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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