Dispute over rights of way (From Western Telegraph)

Dispute over rights of way

Owners of seven properties at The Burrows, Freshwater East, fear their premises will be cut off by alleged interference with rights of way. On Monday, they went to court to seek an injunction against Govan Davies Estates preventing obstruction of routes between their properties and the road, the seashore and springs and wells in the vicinity.

Circuit Judge Mosely was told at Haverfordwest County Court that two rights of way across a proposed development site owned by Govan Davies Estates had been blocked by a gate, fence, boulders and a pit. The seven claimants feared even greater interference if proposals to build four houses across claimed rights of way materialise.

The claimants are Mr Robert McLaren, owner of the most directly affected property, The Dingle; Mr John Adie, of Glenside; Mrs De Graf, of Duneside; Mrs De Fresnoy, of Burrowside, Mrs H. Lewis, of Dol-y-cwrt, Martin and Julian Orchard, of The Wigwam, and Mrs Carolynne Rogers, of Thornback. Mr Gabriel Fadipe, for the claimants, said each had title to various rights of way in their conveyances over land formerly occupied by a house called Ferndale, which Govan Davies bought in 1962 and demolished. Since then one house, Stella Maris, had been built on the site, but had not infringed rights of way. There was no evidence that the rights of way had been abandoned or extinguished.

He said the defence claimed the maps did not indicate rights of way when the property was bought, but his response to that was so what? Judge Mosely said: If they are legal rights of way then they are binding whether he knows of them or not.

Mr Raj Sahoute, for the defence, submitted that rights of way to the highway or the beach were understood but there were no springs or wells indicated on the plans and all the properties were served by mains water. His expert said that until 1996 none of the pathways were in existence on the ground.

Confusion over maps and plans showing rights of way caused the judge to adjourn, telling both barristers to get your houses in order. Until I have the documents before me I cant make a decision on what they mean, he added.

The Judge and parties visited the site on Monday afternoon and the case, which was predicted to last four or five days, resumed on Tuesday.