Does the Act give a right of access to neighbouring land?
If a dispute arises under the Act and an Award is published then it is normal to include access arrangements within it. Otherwise the Act provides a right of access, exercisable by giving reasonable notice. Such access is restricted to the carrying out of works in pursuance of the Act and nothing else (for example for a 3m notice, there would be an entitlement for access for the excavation work, but not necessarily to enable the construction of walls subsequently) which is not to say that such access cannot be agreed between the parties and written into a Party Wall Award. Finally, it is an offence (prosecutable at a Magistrate's Court) for an Adjoining Owner to deny or obstruct access to those who might reasonably be known to be entitled to it.
