PUBLIC foothpaths....or are they????

[Thumper]

I always thought that pavements were for anyone to use? Can anyone clarify that for me? My son,and his two friends have been told to stay off a pavement infront of someones "property" even though it is a pavement and the property is rented,can they do this?All they were doing was playing with a cart,now the stay away from my car bit I understand(even though it is parked on part of the pavement),but to tell them to keep off their pavement and away from their property I cant?Surely the pavements are there to keep people safe and can be used by anyone,not just who the person says can use it? This is roadside pavement,not a path infront of a house or anything like that!Any advice would be good,thanks x

[NickInTheNorth]

well, nice simple question - not :)

A footpath in the street is a right of way for people to "pass and re-pass" on foot. So if someone chooses to simply stand in front of your property they are not using the footpath as intended.

However it is also a "footpath" and that is designed for foot traffic only. As far as I can remember even a kiddies pushchair or pram is theoretically supposed to use the road which is designed for wheeled traffic.

So kids playing in a cart?

They don't really have any right to be on the footpath, however, nor does the car owner have any right to park the car on any part of the footpath.

As to the tenant telling the kids they are not allowed to play on that part of the footpath - no, no right to do so, but could if they wanted to be real pathetic ask the police to attend and decide if the kids are using the path for its legal purpose. However the police will likely tell the car owner to get the car off the footpath and leave the kids alone.

And one last thought, if the kids wanted to really wind them up they could simply walk along the path making as much racket as is reasonable and there would be very little the idiot could do :)

[Cattach]

I always thought that pavements were for anyone to use? Can anyone clarify that for me? My son,and his two friends have been told to stay off a pavement infront of someones "property" even though it is a pavement and the property is rented,can they do this?All they were doing was playing with a cart,now the stay away from my car bit I understand(even though it is parked on part of the pavement),but to tell them to keep off their pavement and away from their property I cant?Surely the pavements are there to keep people safe and can be used by anyone,not just who the person says can use it? This is roadside pavement,not a path infront of a house or anything like that!Any advice would be good,thanks x

Clearly they do not have authority to ask children or adults to keep off the pavement in front of their house. However, I would not look to kindly as a resident or as a pedestrian if children were using a cart on a public pavement. It is not the fault of the children but the fault of the parents allowing it. There are all sorts of dangers to the children themselves and to other users. Someone forced off the pavement may be hurt by a fall or worse a car. Parked cars and property could be damaged. I disapprove of cars parked on pavements as it blocks the way for peopel with mobility problems and people with prams and equally carts on public thoroughfares is equally an antisocial behaviour.

[Thumper]

Clearly they do not have authority to ask children or adults to keep off the pavement in front of their house. However, I would not look to kindly as a resident or as a pedestrian if children were using a cart on a public pavement. It is not the fault of the children but the fault of the parents allowing it. There are all sorts of dangers to the children themselves and to other users. Someone forced off the pavement may be hurt by a fall or worse a car. Parked cars and property could be damaged. I disapprove of cars parked on pavements as it blocks the way for peopel with mobility problems and people with prams and equally carts on public thoroughfares is equally an antisocial behaviour.

I totally agree with you on that,but they were just passing the property,to then cross the road,so really were not causing any obsturction,and as far as I know it was a very small cart-it is after all a toddlers cart,the older sister was taking him out on it and my son went along too,so there wasnt any obstruction,they were not hanging around the property,just making their way along,so in my opinion they were deal with unfairly,and harshly x

[onecalledk]

you would have to check that the front of the property was actually public and not owned by the property. The footpath is separate to the part of the property that is owned so therefore it would be akin to someone playing on your garden path would it not ?

K

[Thumper]

would that not be like me saying that nobody can walk or play on the part of pavement infront of my driveway though? I would say it was petty if nothing else tbh,but heyho nowt as queer a people sometimes,people stand there for ages every single morning waiting for the bus....and are never moved along,so it seems to me it is if your face fits rather than it being an actual legal claim,but like I said,I dont know for sure,must actually look into the legal side more though so that I do know,perhaps even ask the owner of the property themselves,they must have deeds for it....after all I wouldnt want my child breaking any laws without him knowing he was doing so,it would be terrible for an 11 year old to get in trouble for walking on a pavement

[changilass]

Would you not be better phoning the police to ask them, surely they would be the ones to know the law regarding this.

[Thumper]

I probably would be better phoning the police,but I dont want to look petty and childish TBH,I just wondered about the safety issue of children being told they cannot use a pavement,when it is the only pavement,so thought there may be someone on here that would know more than me,I dont want to waste the police's valuable time on a silly matter,but would like to know if my son can use a pavement without being chased off it,I will close this though as I have now found a contact that can perhaps clarify this matter more clearly,thanks for all answers though,it is appreciated x