Betterment Properties (Weymouth) Ltd v Dorset County Council & Anor

Betterment Properties (Weymouth) Ltd v Dorset County Council & Anor

The user of the land by the public was contentious for a substantial period prior to 1984, as the landowners took proportionate steps to contest and interrupt the user, including erecting and re-erecting signs, repairing fences, and warning off trespassers. Therefore, the user was not 'as of right' for the required 20-year period, and the registration of the land as a town or village green should not have been made. It is just to rectify the register and cancel the registration.

Parties
Claimant: Betterment Properties (Weymouth) Limited; First Defendant: Dorset County Council; Second Defendant: Mrs G Taylor (On behalf of the Society for the Protection of Markham and Little Francis)
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
23 November 2010
Procedural Posture
Civil Land/property / Judgment After Trial (high Court, Chancery Division)
Outcome
Claim allowed; register to be rectified
Legal Topics
Commons Registration, Town or Village Greens, Rectification of Register, Contentious User, Acquisition of Rights by Prescription
Land Law Administrative Law Commons Registration Town or Village Greens Rectification of Register Contentious User Acquisition of Rights by Prescription

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Parties

Betterment Properties (Weymouth) Limited

Claimant

Dorset County Council

First Defendant

Mrs G Taylor (On behalf of the Society for the Protection of Markham and Little Francis)

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Land/property / Judgment After Trial (high Court, Chancery Division)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the registration of land as a town or village green under the Commons Registration Act 1965 should be rectified under section 14
  2. 2 Whether the user of the land was 'as of right' (nec vi, nec clam, nec precario) for the relevant period
  3. 3 Whether it is just to rectify the register

Ratio Decidendi

The user of the land by the public was contentious for a substantial period prior to 1984, as the landowners took proportionate steps to contest and interrupt the user, including erecting and re-erecting signs, repairing fences, and warning off trespassers. Therefore, the user was not 'as of right' for the required 20-year period, and the registration of the land as a town or village green should not have been made. It is just to rectify the register and cancel the registration.

Court Disposition

Claim allowed; register to be rectified

Orders

  • The registration of the land owned by Betterment as a town or village green is cancelled with immediate effect.
  • The registration of the cross-hatched land is to be cancelled unless the owner objects within 28 days of service of the order; if objected, the matter to be resolved by agreement or further court order.