Highway stopping up orders

‘Stopping up’ means that a road stops being a public highway. 

A 'public highway' includes:

• roads
• streets
• footpaths
• some public car parks
• grass verges
• footways

Not all roads, streets or footpaths are public highways. Some can be privately owned or maintained. 

Stopping up orders are used because:

• the public highway is no longer necessary 
• a development will be built there if planning permissions have been granted

Once a stopping up order is made, the road stops being a public right of way and it can be built on.

Contact us for more information about stopping-up orders.

Types of stopping-up order

We can authorise the stopping up of a public highway for different legal reasons. Two of the most common legal reasons come from the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and from the Highways Act 1980. 

Section 247 Town and Country Planning Act 1990

Using this power a public highway can be 'stopped up' to allow development to take place if it has received or may receive planning permission. These orders may sometimes create new highways or footpaths. 

Section 116 and 118, Highways Act 1980 

Under this section a public highway can be 'stopped up' because it's no longer in use. 

List of stopping up orders