A couple is staring down the barrel of a £400,000 expense due to a protracted legal struggle regarding a bridleway that their county council claims cuts through their property. This financial burden stems from a six-year battle that has now escalated following a recent defeat in the High Court, nudging their legal costs to an estimated £325,000.
David Moore, aged 63, and his wife, Dr. Dawn Carnell, a 59-year-old cancer specialist, remain steadfast in their belief that they are justified in their stance. Despite the mounting costs, they are determined to take the case to the Court of Appeal, a move that could balloon their financial commitment to an astonishing £400,000.
The enduring legal dispute centers around Breach House, located in Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. The couple purchased this property for £1.2 million a decade ago and have since transformed it into what they describe as a ‘multi-million-pound property’ through extensive renovations.
The contention arose when local residents objected to the closure of a public right of way, which they assert has traversed the 1.75-acre estate for over a century. The couple had fenced off the path with signs and locked gates, prompting Hertfordshire County Council and subsequently the Planning Inspectorate to issue decisions favoring the public access claim.
These rulings were recently upheld by the High Court, potentially setting the stage for the case to ascend to a higher judicial authority. As the couple prepares for their next legal move, the case continues to draw attention, highlighting the complexities and costs of property rights disputes.
The judgements have now been backed by the High Court, paving the way for the matter to move to a higher court.
Mr Moore, who runs an oncology business with his wife, told the Mail: ‘The cost doesn’t really come into it at this point in time. It’s whether you think you’re right or wrong.’
He added his wife supported him ‘100 per cent’ in the ongoing legal battle as both believe the council is at fault for providing inaccurate documents when they bought their home.
David Moore, 63, and his wife Dr Dawn Carnell, 59, a cancer specialist, argue a bridleway open to the public doesn’t run through the 1.75 acres of land they own at Breach House in Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
‘This is not me going off on some expedition into the wilderness and putting my tin hat on and saying “Whatever happens, happens”,’ Mr Moore said.
‘This is two logical people looking at the position given in 2015 and knowing they’re correct.’
The bullish attitude will be a disappointment – but not a surprise – to neighbours who were furious when they, along with ramblers and horse riders found themselves unable to use the path they said had been accessible for generations.
Wayne Morris, a retired Metropolitan Police inspector and now chairman of the parish council who lives next door, said he had been ‘keeping my fingers crossed’ that they’d drop the matter.
But he added: ‘They will not let it go. I think with the amount that they’ve spent going to the High Court that they will just carry on.
‘They’re so fixated on this matter now that they won’t see reason and I think they will probably try to go to the Court of Appeal.’
The dispute between Dr Carnell and her husband with the residents began in 2019 when the route through the property was shut off.
The bad blood it caused in the community saw Mr Moore – whose wife works at University College Hospital in London – complaining of criminal damage, including scratches on his cars, and harassment.
Mr Moore and his wife, whose legal bill could top £400,000 if they take the matter to the Court of Appeal, told the Mail: ‘The cost doesn’t really come into it at this point in time. It’s whether you think you’re right or wrong.’
The couple say the bridleway should run between two cottages just west of their home, which they bought for £1.2 million in 2015 before spending a large sum of money renovating it
Villagers were furious when gates were locked and signs sprang up saying they weren’t allowed access to the route, which they claimed had been used by the public for at least 100 years
Meanwhile, the owners of the two neighbouring cottages – including Mr Morris – ploughed tens of thousands into their own legal costs.
Hertfordshire County Council became involved and passed an order stating the bridleway did run through land attached to six-bedroom Breach House, parts of which date back to the 17th century, leading to the Planning Inquiry.
During the four-day hearing, senior definitive map officer Gavin Harbour-Cooper revealed the council investigated the matter in 1956 and concluded the path ran through Breach House.
But when the first ‘definitive map’ was drawn up three years later, it showed the ‘wrong route’ between the cottages, although the Definitive Statement gave the correct information.
Nigel Adams, the founder of online estate agents BigBlackHen.com and whose parents owned Breach House from 1973 to 1985, said he handled the sale of the property to Mr Moore and his wife in 2015.
He added: ‘During this process, I repeatedly discussed with the Moores the existing bridleway and its route through the Breach House land.’
William Marques, who lived in the house in the 1960s, also recalled the bridleway passing through it.
He described how he used it to get to his grandparents’ home because the only other route, by road, was ‘too dangerous’.
Wayne Morris, a retired Metropolitan Police inspector and now chairman of the parish council who lives next door to Breach House, said he didn’t think the owners will ‘let it go’ as they’ve already spent so much on the six-year legal battle
A planning inspector backed an earlier ruling by Hertfordshire County Council that the bridleway did run through the grounds of Breach House. Now a High Court judge has agreed
But Mr Moore told the inquiry the council had admitted in 2020 the bridleway signs by his home were wrong, so they were removed.
He insisted: ‘When I purchased the property, I was not made aware of the existence of a bridleway crossing the property.’
The matter was heard by the High Court on November 5 and 6, with the ruling issued this month.
The judge, who referred to the ‘inherent implausibility to the Claimants’ argument’, refused Mr Moore and Dr Carnell the right to appeal – but they can go direct to the Court of Appeal to ask for a hearing.
Mr Moore, who has previously threatened civil action against the county council to recover his costs, added: ‘It’s never been our point that there’s no right of way. It’s the position of the right of way that we’ve argued. It’s on the boundary as far as I’m concerned.
‘We’re just people who saved up to buy a house. We followed the correct procedures.
‘What Hertfordshire County Council have done is shoot themselves in the foot because they’ve fought tooth and nail – at a cost of £1 million, I’d guess – to show themselves to be negligent.’
The council said it submitted a figure of £13,791.70 for its costs to the court.
A spokesman added: ‘We are pleased that the High Court has dismissed the appeal against the Planning Inspectorate’s decision, which confirmed the modification order that will allow the route of this bridleway to be correctly recorded.
‘If there are no further legal proceedings, then we will update the Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way in Hertfordshire with the confirmed route in the New Year.’
