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Telegraph
5 minutes ago
- Telegraph
‘My neighbour's garden office is blocking my right of way. What can I do?'
Do you have a legal question to put to Gary? Email askalawyer@ or use the form at the bottom of the page. Dear Gary, We bought a Grade II-listed end of terrace cottage earlier this year, and one of the conveyance documents dated from 1947 relates to the addition of a large parcel of land (just under half an acre) which is used as the rear garden. The 1947 conveyance includes the addition of 'barrow rights' for our neighbours allowing them access across this land, as they lost access from their rear gardens to the road (now used for bins and cycles). The document also includes rights for the owners of our house to use a path from the left-hand side of the garden to the public highway. Over the past 70-odd years, the path has not only become overgrown, but the owners of the property to the north of the right of way have built an outbuilding (now used as a home office) that obstructs and crosses it. The 1947 conveyance describes the strip of land as being 10ft wide, yet today there is perhaps only a foot recognisable at either end. The 1947 conveyance includes a map of the rights of way and this description: 'Together with the benefit of a right for the Purchaser and others, the owners and occupiers for the time being of the premises hereinbefore described, with or without horses, carts, carriages, and other conveyances and animals, to go return pass or repass over and along the strip of land 10 feet wide lying between the points marked A and B on the said plan and thereon coloured brown.' Is there any recourse available to reinstate this right of way? Many thanks in advance, – Lewis Dear Lewis, The ace card you have up your sleeve is the very clear wording in the 1947 conveyance quoted in your question. In legal terms, this is an 'express right of way', which means it is a right defined in a legal document and granted for the benefit of the land conveyed at that time, the land you say you use as your garden. The legal right set out in the 1947 conveyance is the means and evidence for you to enforce the right of way it describes as its new owner. However, before you assert that right, I would do some preparation. First, ensure the right of way is referred to both in the Land Register entry for your cottage and the entry for the property or land which includes the path you are claiming a right over. The Land Register is a document issued by the Land Registry which summarises the relevant legal matters relating to a particular parcel of land. The fact you have a copy of the 1947 conveyance setting out an express right of way means that if the right has been missed off the Land Register for your cottage, or missed off the Register for the path, you can apply to the Land Registry for it to be noted on both titles. I am labouring this point because having the right of way noted on the Land Register as a matter of fact is the optimal starting point if you seek to clear the overgrown strip of land which you say comprises the right of way, and exercise the right. A clear impediment to your right of way is the garden office, which you say has been built across part of it. Whoever owns that building may argue that the fact it is there, and has been for some time, equates to the previous owners of your cottage having abandoned the right of way you are now seeking to enforce. You use the word 'reinstate', but I would avoid that phrase as it infers the right has been lost, when your legal argument is that it has been there all along, albeit exercised infrequently. There is some weight to an argument that a right of way that is blocked has been abandoned. Further, the legal 'doctrine of laches' states a person with a legal right has a duty to assert that right or risk losing it. However, in law, it is hard to prove an express right of way has been abandoned. Your rebuttal to such an argument would be that, although the path of the right in question has become overgrown and has narrowed, it is still there and is an identifiable route not completely blocked by the garden office. In terms of what to do next, I would get your legal paperwork in order as outlined above, and then either approach the owner of the strip of land and say you wish to exercise the right of way. Or just cut back the overgrown path and start using it. It is not clear from your question if the owner of the path is the same as the owner of the garden office. But if they are the same person, your leverage is that the building is infringing your right of way, so you will only accept the building if they allow your right of way. One final comment is that as you are new to the locality, making some assessment of how important this issue is to you compared with not upsetting your neighbours would be no bad thing. It's one thing having legal rights and asserting them. It's quite another to assert rights with no real-world benefit at the expense of forging close connections with those who you live among. Ask a Lawyer should not be taken as formal legal advice, but rather as a starting point for readers to undertake their own further research.
The Independent
35 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why Camilla is being given a high-ranking naval title
The Queen is to be made a vice admiral, reflecting the "high regard" she commands with sailors, the head of the Royal Navy has announced. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, said the honorary role would "further enhance Her Majesty's relationship with the service". The appointment will be formally made when Camilla visits Devonport naval base. There, as HMS Astute's sponsor, she will join a ceremony marking the submarine 's first commission's end. The honorary role, dating to the mid-1500s, includes the formal presentation of a burgee or pennant by Rear Admiral Andy Perks, head of the submarine service, recognising the Queen's ongoing Royal Navy support. 'The honorary appointment reflects the high regard in which Her Majesty is held by all of us,' the First Sea Lord said. Sir Gwyn, who is a Royal Marine, met Camilla on Tuesday when she was installed as an honorary freeman and liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, an organisation associated with the Royal Marines. 'We're super proud of Her Majesty's role with HMS Astute, as are the crew, it really matters a lot to us as a Navy and to them as a crew that it's the Queen's submarine,' he said during the City of London event. The Queen joked to him about not wanting to serve on a submarine. The head of the Royal Navy said afterwards: 'I think we would all recognise that being a submariner is a very special skill set, you have to be really committed to the role and what you do for the country. 'It can be phenomenally rewarding, it's an amazing sense of teamwork onboard, but it's not for everyone.' At Devonport, the Queen and the crew will celebrate the submarine's achievements over the past 15 years – the longest first commission of any Royal Navy submarine in history. The hunter-killer submarine will undergo a major overhaul at Devonport naval base to allow it to continue patrols safeguarding the UK's interests for years to come. Commander Christopher Bate, commanding officer of HMS Astute, said the crew took enormous pride in the Queen's sponsorship of their submarine and support for all onboard since she formally named the vessel nearly 20 years ago. 'Her Majesty the Queen has supported us from the very beginning, she has consistently shown a deep commitment to all aspects of our work,' he said. 'Her continued engagement with our activities and achievements over the years has meant a great deal to us.'
The Sun
35 minutes ago
- The Sun
Over 1million missing out on £3,800 a year with little-known benefit
OVER one million people are missing out on a benefit worth £3, 800 a year. Attendance Allowance is financial support paid to those with a disability and require someone to help look after you. 1 It's paid at two different rates and how much you get depends on the level of care that you need because of your disability or health condition. You could get £73.90 or £110.40 a week to help with personal support, depending on how severe your disability is. One savvy reader told readers of the MoneySavingExpert blog that claiming the benefit helped boost her parents income by £20,000. Daughter Dawn said: "Dear Martin, after watching numerous shows I have successfully claimed Attendance Allowance for both of my parents worth £10,598/yr and Pension Credit worth £1,233/yr. "This opened doorways to Housing Benefit worth £9,207/yr, Council Tax reduction of £1,534/yr, a free TV licence saving £169/yr and swapping their phone to BT saving £420/yr. They also received rebates of £3,449 for Housing Benefit and £604 for Council Tax." "All in all, they are better off by more than £20,000/yr thanks to you and obviously me for completing the necessary applications! Thank you for everything you do."
