Case Report: 1951 SLT (Notes) 19
Key points: Private road as terminus of right of way – definition of public place – absence of challenge by owners – owners not parties to the Action.
The facts: An Action was raised for Declarator of a public right of way where one terminus was a private road to which the public had unrestricted access and none of the proprietors of which had objected to or taken steps to prevent such public access. These proprietors were not parties to the Action. It was held that, for the purpose of this Action, a private road could be deemed a ‘public place’ if the public had unrestricted access to it, and that – on the authority of Nairn v Speedie – it was not necessary to call all the proprietors of ground affected by the right of way.
Comments: This is a brief case with little in the way of facts or argument reported. It would not be wise to deduce that any private road could constitute the terminus of a public right of way. It must be assumed that the private road in question connected directly to a public road.
Case referred to: Nairn v Speedie (1899) 1 F 635