My rear garden backs on to a river bank and land owned by

Hello and thank you for your question. My name is ***** ***** I will be very pleased to assist you. I'm a practising lawyer in England with over 15 years’ experience. Please be aware that although I will endeavour to reply to you promptly, I am also in full time private practice and so I may not be available to respond immediately and it may also take me a few minutes to prepare a reply. The site will notify you as soon as I respond. I look forward to working with you to answer your question fully.

from what you say, you would be able to provide evidence in relation to your use of the gate and exercising a right of way over the adjoining land for at least the last 10 years representing your ownership. What evidence could you adduce for the period before you owned the property?

thank you. The  gate in and of itself is not conclusive evidence that a right of way has actually been exercised over the adjoining land. To evidence this, it would be necessary to adduce evidence in the form of witness statements from for example yourself as the current owner and also from others such as previous owners or nearby neighbours who have personal knowledge of  a writing exercise within the last 20 years.

accordingly, you will need to consider how you may adduce evidence to account for the remaining 20 year period occurring before you bought the property. as above, you can consider enlisting nearby neighbours who may have knowledge dating back that far in relation to the property or if you are able to contact the previous owner or any family members of the previous owner who may have direct knowledge of the property to combine with your own to tally the requisite 20 year period.

if you are able to adduce such evidence, you can consider making an application for a prescriptive right over the land.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prescriptive-easements-statement-of-truth-st4

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/change-the-register-ap1

unfortunately, the existence of a toilet is not conclusive evidence that a right of way was exercised. It is merely indicative which is not the same thing. I wonder whether the previous owner's executor would be able to comment or whether they had any family such as children lived at the property?

In terms of an application, the AP1 form as the application form where is the ST4 form is the statement of truth to provide a witness statement as to the facts

I'm glad the above answers all your questions for now. If you have any follow up questions please revert to me.

the issue of an easement and a gate are two separate matters and subject to planning laws, it is not open to the adjoining landowner to dictate to you what forms of boundary structures you erect. There is no law that prevents you from installing a gate whether or not you have an easement though of course without an easement, you cannot legally walk through it.

If the adjoining landowner has concerns with regards ***** ***** presence of a gate, it is open to them to install their own structure on the other side of the gate blocking access if you do not have an easement

I'm glad the above was of some assistance