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Court Success for Boscaswell man in garden land dispute

David Weddle (58) from The Old Barn, Lower Boscaswell yesterday successfully defended a claim by his neighbours Mr and Mrs. Weller for possession of part of his garden.

 After six days Court hearing Mr Weddle proved that he had occupied the land for 19 years, and was given the freehold title by Recorder Richard Mawhinney at Truro County Court.

 The judge was so convinced of the strength of Mr Weddle’s claim to the land that he ordered Mr and Mrs. Weller to pay all of Mr Weddle's legal fees and directed the Land Registry to register Mr Weddle as the freehold owner of the property.

 David Weddle, who suffered a heart-attack and underwent surgery during the course of the case, said "this is such a relief.  I never doubted that the claim was misguided, but I could not have succeeded without my solicitors CVC of Penzance, and in particular Lisa Robinson. I have nothing but praise for the whole team".

picture: Lisa Robinson(CVC), Mr Weddle, Diana Williams(CVC)

© CVC Solicitor 2008

Love Thy Neighbour?

Disputes with neighbours are becoming increasingly common and can cause home owners a huge amount of distress.   Such disputes  often result in people being made to feel uncomfortable in their own homes or gardens. This can have  a huge impact upon people’s lives because what often starts as a minor dispute is  blown out of proportion, resulting in feuds which can last months, or even years.   In some cases people are forced to sell their home to escape the “neighbour from hell”.  

In English law, plots of land are conveyed by reference to plans.  More often than not the plans are not to scale and do not specify measurements.  The land is sometimes outlined by a fat red felt pen which makes things more difficult.  

As the value of land in England has steadily increased, this has lead to a huge number of disputes as land owners are keen to try to maximise their usage of the land they own by building right up to the boundary.

So whose boundary is it?   In relation to garden fences, the general rule is that where the Title Deeds have a plan and there is a T mark on one side of the fence, if this falls on your side, then you are the owner.  If there is no plan or no T mark then there is a general presumption that you own the fence if the supporting posts are on your land.  If there is a man made ditch at the end of your garden which is not marked on any plan the law assumes that the boundary runs up to the near side of the ditch.  These rules are not binding and can be overridden if evidence is produced to the contrary.

There are various ways to resolve disputes:

·            informally

·            by meeting (sometimes referred to as ADR)

·            arbitration

·            court hearings.

The further down the list you go the more expensive things become.  It is important that people seek legal advice at an early stage in the hope that matters can be resolved by agreement, before emotions interfere and relations become strained. 

Lisa Robinson, is a litigation solicitor at CVC solicitors.  She  is experienced in all areas with regard to   property rights and associated disputes.  She offers clear, practical legal advice on a wide range of issues such as boundary disputes, trespass, high hedges, nuisance and rights of way.

Put your mind at rest, contact Lisa on 01736 362362

Don't suffer in silence

Domestic Violence is abuse within a home or relationship that is:

·         physical,

·        sexual,

·        psychological,

·        financial or

·        emotional

Statistics estimate:

• One incident is reported to the police every minute

• It accounts for 16% of all violent crime

• On average two women are killed every week as a result

• It has more repeat victims than any other crime

• on average there will have been 35 incidents before a victim calls the police

• It will affect 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in their lifetime

For many the family home is a dangerous and frightening place.

CVC Solicitors offer confidential advice and expertise in representing clients at Court.

Anyone breaking a court order may face not only a criminal record but also a term of imprisonment.

CVC Solicitors family team includes

• Solicitors Prue Willday and Nichola Whitehead both specialise in family law only.

• Prue is a Director of the firm and has run domestic violence law training for Police and other professionals.

• Alison James is an experienced member of the family team and works closely with the Police and Women’s Aid.  She also provides specialist advice and training to professionals. 

CVC Solicitors have offices in Penzance, St Ives and Hayle and offer assistance to both private clients and those needing Legal Aid. Call us on 01736 362 362 or visit us at www.cvc-solicitors.co.uk