The Battle for Broxhead Common
The Battle for Broxhead Common
The Case for Hampshire County Council – PART 85
- 20th April 1978, the minutes of the Rights of Way Sub-Committee of Hampshire County Council record that; the County Secretary reported that negotiations were now in hand to secure a 20-year lease for the unfarmed parts of Broxhead Common!!!??? This comes out of the blue one month before the Appeal Court hearing. There are no documents which show consultation with the BCA, or Parish Councils. Most importantly there is no reference to the fact that the Chief Commons Commissioner’s Final Decision has already been confirmed in the High Court.!!?? Broxhead is now registered common land.
1978 Broxhead Common ROW Comm 20.4.78 - 24th May 1978 is the date of Mr Whitfield’s next appeal, to the Court of Appeal. This time regarding the costs of his lost High Court case and the rights of one commoner by the name of Mr Connell.
- The hearing resulted in the Consent Order for the dismissal of the case from that Court just as Brightman J. had predicted, but ever since the document has been presented by Hampshire County Council as an Order of that Court!!
- Whereas Hampshire County Council had not attended the previous High Court proceedings, stating a lack of interest and leaving it to their representative Mr Mills QC, they now made themselves a respondent to the appeal.
- It must be presumed that this was so their agreement with Mr Whitfield could be incorporated into the proceedings as part of the Schedule to the dismissal from out of that Court.
- As the Court of Appeal had not heard the case, it could not order anything other than the dismissal of the Appeal from out of that Court, albeit on the terms for the settlement of the Appeal set forth in the Schedule.
Next time: to be continued. The Schedule to the Consent Order. The agreement.