When does a public place ,cease to be a public place?

Question

I would like to know when a public place ceases to be a public place. what time constraints there are. I live on a private estate where the public do not have a right of way,this is indicated on a very large sign at the start of the estate and with the exception of visiting the local attractions, these being A pub, A light railway a lighthouse and a local fish seller,there is no reason for the estate to be a public place when all these are closed. I was also taken to understand that a pub car park ceases to be a public place 20 minutes after closing , can anyone clarify this, many thanks

Answer 1

Any portion of the estate could become open to public trespass if any tax dollars were being used to maintain it... IE, the street, the lighthouse, etc...

Answer 2

Although you have signs saying your road is a private road, for the purpose of the law and road traffic enforcement a your road would still classify as a "public place"

Basically the law says that any place is a public place if persons can access and egress freely and without payment, it even covers people's front gardens, which are deemed to be a "public" place because there is nothing to stop entry, no not even the wall & gate.

For example, if a person on a private road, such as the one you describe drives to a pub, on that private road and gets drunk, he CAN be arrested for drink drive. Equally all the other offences that can be commited in public are all in play.

I am afraid all your private road status means is that rather than some rates for the upkeep of your road being covered by councils, the residents end up paying for it.

It does however mean that the residents of the road can introduce a toll system for using the road.

As to the pub car park question, no it is not for the purpose of law a "Private" place because the public still have some degree of access to it.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

If as you say there are a number of establishments visited than the roads are roads under the Road Traffic act and the pub car park is a public place under that act but not just for 20 mins unless it is gated.A public place is defined differently in in different acts but in this case if there is not physical barrier and people have access than for most acts of Parliament it is a public place though privately owned.Rights of way are a different matter and can exist even on private land particularly if again it is left open continuously and is in regular use.The sign does not mean anything if people ignore it and treat as a public place.It is a bit like a park if they shut the gates at night it is private if they leave them open you can stroll in there .

Answer 4

A public place is a place have reasonable access, paid or unpaid.
A street doesn't become "private" simply because of sign saying there is no right of way. The pubic are still entitled to use the street for visiting residents/buisnesses in the area.
An example of private property is inside a pub after the doors have been locked, or on a street surrounded by a fence and gates. Even then one could argue that people living on the street and their visitors are members of public.

There are very few places, that in the eyes of the law are classed as private. The exceptions being things like compounds and back gardens.

Answer 5

I would need more information, with regard to the estate, if any of the roads have been adopted by the local authority then it is public and not private, so will always be a public place. the definition itself is an area where any member of the public has unlimited and uncontrolled access . with regard to a pub car park, a lot of that changed in 2000ish when they changed the road traffic act specific to reporting accidents, whilst the pub is open it is classed as a public area so if you had a prang it will be reportable under that act. if the pub is closed and it has a chain limiting access then it becomes private and not public. i hope that makes a bit of sense.

Answer 6

If the public cannot enter an area then it is not a public place. A public place is where the public can enter either freely or by invitation. If you live over a pub and choose to go to the bar area when it is closed then at that time it is not a public place. Difficult question when you think about it

Answer 7

A public place is defined as "a place to which the public have acccess at the time in question, whether on payment or not".

It was used near here last year when a local farmer opened one of his fields as a car park for a charity event and a local scrote was done for being drunk & disorderly.

Answer 8

It sounds like the property is what is called, private property public use. Like a shopping center which is technically owned by the shopping center, but you couldn't charge someone for trespass there.

I think the legality would be too vague to really enforce it based on the existing sign, at least close to closing. If someone is there at 4AM and the places close at 9PM then they would probably trespassing though. You should find out who is responsible for the sign and try to get a time listed, like property is closed/off limits from ___ time to ___ time. It is a similar thing done in public parks and is enforceable there.

Answer 9

Definitions by ability of definition are not in any respect questions. i'm curious as to the way you may dedicate an obscene act "on" a public position: "Hump" a statue? more beneficial to the point, which one is the criminal: Obscene act in a public position or breaking and entering into? A defence(Canadian, eh?) criminal specialist ought to consider that.

Answer 10

The question should be, "when is a private place open to the public?" The answer is, "any time the private owners say so, and at no other time."