Neighbours spend hundreds of thousands of pounds locked in bitter legal battle over bridleway
Feuding neighbours have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on a row over a bridleway (stock)
Wikimedia Commons/Geograph
Feuding neighbours have spent hundreds of pounds in legal fees over the positioning of a bridleway in a leafy village in Hertfordshire.
Dr Dawn Carnell and her husband David Moore, who live in the scenic Little Berkhamsted, first angered their neighbours in 2019 when they allegedly took down right-of-way signs which allowed passers-by to walk through the driveway and paddock of their home.
Ramblers, horse-riders and residents had used that route for at least 100 years, so they were left frustrated when the gates were locked by the couple, prohibiting access.
Two neighbours have forked out £50,000 each on legal fees in an attempt to gain easements, which would allow them to continue using the bridle path.
Feuding neighbours have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on a row over a bridleway (stock)Wikimedia Commons/GeographHowever, the couple have fought back, spending a staggering £250,000 so far on their own legal case.
They have argued that the route should instead go between two nearby cottages, though this was rejected by Hertfordshire City Council - with one councillor saying it was 'inconceivable' the owners didn't realise that the bridleway ran through their house.
The couple, who run an oncology firm, expect the fees to rise even further as they are taking their case to a planning inspector.
Moore told The Daily Mail that his family’s safety has been compromised as a result: “It's horrific. We've suffered criminal damage to our property. Someone broke the sign at the bottom, the sign for our house.Someone tried to smash the gates in. Cars have been scratched and gates have been broken.”
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“My daughter's been followed to the petrol station. She moved out of the house after that incident.”
However, Sue Williams and her husband Wayne Morris, are one set of neighbours who have fought back against the couple.
“It is frustrating and has cost us a lot of money,” said Williams.
“I was in charge of criminal justice for the Met. My integrity is very high. I was in the Met for 40 years.”
Neighbours in the village of Little Berkhamsted have clashed over the bridleway
Wikimedia Commons
The couple, who were both in the Metropolitan Police, ultimately had to give up on their pricey fight, though another set of neighbours who have asked not to be named have succeeded.
Carnell and Moore said that there was never any evidence of a bridleway running through the property, and if they knew, they would not have purchased the property back in 2015.
“Definitive maps” of the area first drawn in 1924 show the path running through the couple’s home, though a redrawing in 1957 accidentally placed the route between two nearby cottages.
A council spokeswoman said: “Until the outcome of the case is decided, it would be inappropriate for us to comment on the detail.”