I want my land back but will the council let me have it?

When you say,
"the only way is...to have the land back"
Is there a fence or something stopping your access to the land? Has anybody including the council laid claim to this land and if so how?

If not I would get a surveyor to confirm the boundary of your land and take it from there.

When did you purchase the property?

Is it a dead end path or where does it lead to? Who uses it? For what purpose ?

Has the Council been maintaining the pathway? If not then it's likely not theirs. If they have been maintaining it they could claim, depending on how long they have maintained it, possibly adverse possession rights.

Speak to your /a solicitor first, not the Council.

Dave
I suggest you take legal advice. A quick check at the Land Registry will establish if the land is registered and if so who owns it.

It is not clear from your post if the land over which the right of way exists is within your title or is owned by the Council. If the latter then you have no more right to it than anyone else. That said if you were to fence it off and treat it as part of your property you might begin to establish a claim for adverse possession but that will take years.
If you are bold and don't mind taking a risk you could construct the driveway anyway. If the land is unregistered it could be that the legal owner died and the property has not been transferred meaning it is less likely you will be challenged. However the risk is the Council or the new owner objects and removes your improvements.

As I say, take legal advice.

This makes no sense. It's either your land as outlined on your title deeds or the Council's. Also isn't there a statute of limitation process for this type of thing? 1936? Doubtful the road proposal is going to happen! Is it beyond taking legal advice as the alternative would be just move forward with your plans on assumption it's your land....which you suggest it is.

Not all solicitors might be suitable for this - some don't have the depth of experience leading to a problem when you want to sell.
Look for one with experienced conveyancers - they often resolve problems like this during a sale.

if the Land registry shows its your land then its your land. Check today so you know the deeds are the latest ones - don't bank on old copies at this stage as you need to know the latest position. Check the wording in the title deed carefully if it mentions a right of way or anything else. If not then I would take it as do what you like as its your land.

Anyone who subsequently challenged ownership/right of way this would need evidence, so if nothing is registered then how can they prove anything??

Reply to the comment left by DSR at 15/05/2023 - 13:24
"Anyone who subsequently challenged ownership/right of way this would need evidence, so if nothing is registered then how can they prove anything??"

The land might be unregistered because it was in the ownership of a predecessor of the Council. As it will not have been transferred "for value" it might not have become compulsorily registerable at the Land Registry. Ownership would be proved by title deeds. When property is registered, the title deeds no longer prove the title.

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 15/05/2023 - 15:34
So how would you find out if (in this case land) something is registered? All sounds very confusing to me.

Reply to the comment left by DSR at 15/05/2023 - 15:56
I am a conveyancer and have access to the Land Registry portal.
Non-conveyancers can sign up and obtain access to the Map Search https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mapsearch which allows you to obtain title numbers and to see if land is unregistered.

Report to the council that you've tripped and it's unsafe. They'll soon tell you it's not theirs.

We did exactly that a got a free bit of land next to one of our properties.