ABSTRACT
A highway can come into existence if the owner of the land concerned dedicates the right to cross it to the general public, which right is then accepted by the public actually using it. The main rules are now consolidated in the 1980 Act, s.24. Under its provisions, highway authorities can build highways including particular types of road. Although the highway authority, when building new roads, may have acquired the land on which the highway is built, it is quite usual for the land under a highway to remain in the ownership of a private person. Often the landowners on either side of a highway own the land to the centre line of the road. The authority operating under the Private Street Works Code is responsible for recovering the sums due after completion of the work and money may be outstanding for long periods.
