Highway boundaries

The highway boundary is the line of the boundary that divides public highway from private land. There is often a highway boundary feature sitting upon this line, such as a hedge or a fence. However some highway boundaries have no physical feature on them.

What is a public highway

Public highway is a route over which the public have the right to freely pass and repass. This right is known as a public highway right and applies to all types of public highway.

The public highway can include the carriageway (the surface of the road) and adjoining footways and verges. Other pieces of land lying next to a road can also form part of the public highway. There is no standard width for any part that makes up the public highway.

The difference between a carriageway and highway

A highway route is made up of one or more surfaces. Public highway often consists of a metalled (or surfaced) carriageway or road - mainly for the use of vehicles. There are often footways and/or grass verges on each side of the carriageway - mainly for the public on foot.

The carriageway is a single element within the wider 'highway corridor'. The highway corridor is the space in between the highway boundaries on either side of the highway.

Cross-section example of an average road

The diagram shows a road with a footway on either side. On the outside edge of one footway is a hedge and on the outside edge of the other footway is a drainage ditch. These are known as boundary features. Highway rights exist between those two boundary features, covering the road, footways and any verges, roadsigns or lamp posts. Most drainage ditches are privately owned and are not part of the public highway. In common law, the adjacent landowner to a road owns the land that their property stands on and also the subsoil from the highway boundary to the centre of the road.

The different types of public highway

There are five types of public highway:

• Full public rights
• Foothpaths
• Bridleways
• Restricted byways
• Byways open to all traffic (BOAT)

Some of these have legal restrictions regarding the public rights of way over them.

Private roads are not considered public highway. They will only become public highway if they are 'adopted' by Norfolk County Council. 

Full public rights

The most common form of public highway is one over which the public have 'full' public rights. Most surfaced roads in Norfolk belong to this category.  

These routes are only for: 

• Any kind of motorised transport (cars, motorbikes, lorries etc)  
• Any type of pedal cycle (bicycle etc) 
• Any type of powered wheelchair or mobility scooter 
• Walking 
• Horse riding/traffic 

Footpaths 

These routes are only for:  

• Walking 
• Any type of powered wheelchair or mobility scooter

Bridleways 

These routes are only for:  

• Walking 
• Horse riding/traffic 
• Any type of pedal cycle 
• Any type of powered wheelchair or mobility scooter 

Restricted byways 

These routes are only for: 

• Any type of transport without a motor 
• Walking 
• Horse riding/traffic 
• Any type of powered wheelchair or mobility scooter 

Byways open to all traffic (BOAT) 

These routes are only for: 

• Any kind of motorised transport (cars, motorbikes, lorries etc)  
• Any type of pedal cycle (bicycle etc) 
• Any type of powered wheelchair or mobility scooter 
• Walking 
• Horse riding/traffic

Norfolk County Council are the highway authority in Norfolk. This means we have a legal duty (under Section 130 of the Highways Act 1980) to ensure all Norfolk's public highways are maintained so the public can freely pass and repass over them. 

This applies to all types of publicly maintainable highway, including public rights of way.

Our mapping tool has information on the roads, footways, and cycleways that are maintainable by us.

What is publicly maintainable highway (or highway maintainable at the public expense)

Publicly maintainable highway (or highway maintainable at the public expense) means land the public have a right to pass and repass over and is maintained by the highway authority. 

Who maintains the A47 and the A11

National Highways is responsible for maintaining the A47 and the A11 (Norfolk's trunk roads). Find routes maintained by National Highways.

You can report an issue with the A47 or A11 on the National Highways website.

The research and boundary definition completed by the highway boundary research team is definitive. Our research team thoroughly investigate to a standard that we are confident would stand up to scrutiny in a court of law. Only the highway boundary research team have the research expertise and access to the full range of sources needed to define the highway boundary. Highway boundaries are only legally valid and accurate when produced by this team.

It will only be altered if proven evidence to the contrary is submitted or discovered.

Old highway boundary plans (including ones sent out by the highway boundary research team) might not be valid and could be inaccurate. This is because highway extents can change over time.

About the highway boundary research team

Our highway boundary research team are historical researchers who define and map the legal extent of the public highway. We use an evidence-based approach. 

Our team has access to:

• Documents held by our highways department
• The collections held at the Norfolk Record Office and the National Archives

We also use online resources for historic mapping and photography.

Once we have assembled all the relevant evidence, we map the highway boundary and provide the customer with an annotated highway boundary plan. This shows the extent of the public highway hatched (diagonal lines) in green.

Contact the highway boundary research team

You can contact the highway boundary research team by:

• Emailing highway.boundaries@norfolk.gov.uk. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information.
• Call us using the details on our contact us page and ask to speak to the highway boundary research team

Most boundaries drawn on HM Land Registry title plans are classed as general boundaries. They are not always the same as legal boundaries.

Legal boundaries

The legal boundary is the boundary as defined when all relevant caselaw and legal presumptions such as 'ad medium filum' have been applied. The legal boundary is the true boundary of your property, but may not match the general boundary drawn on your title plan.

There is no limit to the amount of land that can lie between the general boundary drawn on your title plan and the legal boundary that is the true boundary of your property. If any features (such as trees, hedges, and ditches) lie in this area then the property owner will be responsible for maintaining them. Even if this is outside of the boundary suggested by your title plan.

For a more detailed explanation of the difference between Land Registry's legal boundaries and general boundaries, along with information about how Land Registry produces their title plans, visit:

• HM Land Registry's Practice guide 40, supplement 3
• HM Land Registry's Practice guide 40, supplement 5

You can also contact HM Land Registry.

Ad medium filum

Ad medium filum means 'up to the middle line' in Latin. It is a common law legal presumption. This presumption states that the adjacent landowner to a highway route owns the land up to the middle of that route. If highway rights exist over the surface, the landowner is responsible for the subsoil only and the highway authority is responsible for the surface.

Land you own due to the ad medium filum presumption won't usually be included on the title plans from HM Land Registry, as these plans do not show the legal boundary. 

You can find more information on this principle in section 11.1 of HM Land Registry's Practice guide 40, supplement 3. 

A highway boundary feature marks the boundary between land over which highway rights exist and land over which no highway rights exist. 

Typical highway boundary features include:

• Fences 
• Walls 
• Hedging 
• Trees 
• Drainage ditches
• The faces of buildings or outbuildings

With hedges and trees, the highway boundary is presumed to extend to the centre of the main trunks. 

With drainage ditches, the highway boundary usually extends to the roadside edge of the ditch. 

There can be many factors that influence the position of the highway boundary. Only our highway boundary research team has the research expertise and access to the full range of sources needed to define the highway boundary.

Who is responsible for maintaining highway boundary features

The responsibility to maintain highway boundary features lies with the adjacent landowner and not with the highway authority. 

For example, if you have a hedge that separates your front garden from the public highway - with the public highway presumed to extend across the whole area between boundary features - you are responsible for all maintenance relating to that hedge.

If the hedge becomes overgrown and prevents the public's ability to enjoy the full width of the highway, you (as the adjacent landowner) are responsible for sorting this issue.  

If you need to find out the legal position of the highway boundary on any public highway in Norfolk, contact the highway boundary research team. 

Feature to feature presumption

The 'feature to feature' presumption is a common law presumption that holds that all the land lying between two boundary features - such as two fences lying on either side of the road - is presumed, unless there is evidence to the contrary, to have been dedicated as public highway. 

How high can a fence be

A fence next to publicly maintainable highway which follows the highway boundary line can be a maximum of one metre above ground level without planning permission. Before starting any work installing new fencing, consult your local planning authority. Norfolk County Council is not the local planning authority - it will be the relevant borough, district, or city council. Use GOV.UK's find your local council tool to find out who your local planning authority is.  

Whilst public highway rights can exist on land owned by the highway authority, most public highway in England exists on land which is owned by a private individual or company.

The surface of the land on which highway rights exist is the responsibility of the highway authority. This is regardless of whether the land is owned by the highway authority or owned privately.

If the highway is not owned by the highway authority, the adjacent landowner retains ownership of the subsoil beneath the highway as per the 'ad medium filum' presumption.

It is often quoted in highway law that "once highway, always highway". This means that once land has been dedicated as public highway those rights cannot be lost, even through lack of use.  

Public highway rights can only be removed via legal processes, such as through obtaining a 'Stopping Up Order'. This is a legal order that removes all public highway rights over a specific area. This is a costly process with no guarantee of success. It must be submitted to the magistrates court for scrutiny. 

Our Highways services fees and charges page tells you the Stopping Up the highway fees.

Contact our legal orders team at legalordersandregisters@norfolk.gov.uk for more information regarding Stopping Up Orders. Read our privacy notice to find out how we use your personal information. Or call us using the details on our contact us page and ask to speak to our legal orders team. 

Roadside ditches are common throughout Norfolk. These ditches often form part of extensive land drainage systems which takes water away from agricultural fields to be discharged elsewhere. 

The highway authority has a right, under Section 100 of the Highways Act 1980, to discharge highway water into these land drainage ditches, despite, in most instances, not being the riparian owner.  

Whilst most roadside ditches are land drainage ditches, there are some which are highways soakaway ditches, with these lying within the highway verge. These ditches are designed to take highway water only and transport it away from the highway. Unlike ditches which form part of land drainage systems, highway soakaway ditches are the responsibility of Norfolk County Council to maintain.

If you live on, lease or own land next to a watercourse you have a responsibility to maintain it (unless evidence exists that proves otherwise). This means you are the riparian owner.

Most watercourses that run alongside publicly maintainable highway are the responsibility of the adjacent landowner, regardless of whether your title plan encompasses the watercourse.

The highway authority has the right to discharge highway water into these watercourses, and in doing so does not take on any maintenance responsibilities for the watercourse. However, some watercourses, such as those which have been piped by the highway authority become the responsibility of the highway authority. 

 See our Living next to a watercourse page for more information on riparian ownership.

Any private structures or obstructions found to exist on land which forms part of the public highway are considered encroachments as they prevent the public from enjoying the full width of the public highway. Encroaching upon the public highway is a criminal offence. There is no time limit placed on unlawful encroachments of the public highway, so regardless of how long an encroachment has been in place it remains a criminal offence. 

Examples of common encroachments include, but are not limited to: 

• Rocks, tree trunks, sleepers, hedging, or bollards placed on the highway verge 
• Fencing installed forward of the highway boundary line
• Poorly maintained, overgrown hedging  
• Buildings and gates constructed on public footpaths and bridleways 

Receiving an encroachment letter

If you have received a letter informing you that an encroachment has been identified at your property, you should contact us and ask to speak to the relevant area maintenance team. They can help you with how the encroachment can be resolved.

If you would like a breakdown of the historical research we have completed in order to define the highway boundary in your location, contact the highway boundary research team. 

The highway boundary research team cannot provide information relating to the adoption of private roads, including the status of Section 38 Agreements. This information can only be supplied as part of an Official Search (LLC1 and CON29). 

Visit our County CON29 webpage for more information on LLC1 and CON29.

We have a directory of highways which are maintainable at the public expense in accordance with the Highways Act 1980 s36(6). See the section 'Norfolk County Council's List of Streets' on our adopted and private roads webpage.

Our List of Streets does not include information such as the position of the highway boundary. This can only be defined by the highway boundary research team.

If the extent of the highway is required, contact the highway boundary research team.

Our highway boundary research team do not attend site visits requested by customers. Site visits are only carried out when we think it's necessary for our research.

This policy is due to the nature of our work within our infrastructure department.