The Battle for Broxhead Common
2020 Burnt to a cinder
The Case for Hampshire County Council – PART 90
- But remember Mr Whitfield had a cause. Knowing his ownership of the common was tenuous to say the least. He was determined to secure it for himself at all costs. Something the Chief Commons Commissioner recognised on Page 14 of his final Rights Decision.
- After losing his High Court case, he could not appeal the common Land Decision again, because there was no point of law on which it could be appealed. (Referenced in the Brightman Judgement), so his Counsel asked the Judge to allow him to appeal generally so that he could raise the issue of costs. As they were considered quite hefty the Judge agreed while at the same time commenting that the Court of Appeal would make short work of it, if he chose to go there!
- However, Mr Whitfield had a plan. Having totally missed the point that the Rights of Mrs Cooke were merely peripheral because of the existing Manorial Rights, he thought it would leave just Mr Connell’s and a deal could be done with him. He imagined that if he bought those Rights, it would extinguish all the common rights over the 80 acres and the land registration along with it!!! That was the plan and HCC, very strangely, appear to have endorsed it!!
- However, the Appeal Court did make short work of it as Brightman J had predicted, because the case was not heard but dismissed, albeit on the terms of the Schedule.
- If Hampshire County Council had made sure that the terms of the Schedule had been followed to the letter, they would have soon found out that Mr Connell was not the only commoner and anyway the common was already registered so the fences must now be removed, or application made to the Secretary of State if the intention had been to keep them.
Broxhead report of 22.6.78 COMPLETION OF LEASE - Instead, when questions were asked how it was that the fences remained even though two appeals had been lost by Mr Whitfield, in the High Court and then dismissed in the Court of Appeal, the answer given was this…..
FP48 Broxhead
Next time: The start of the story that confused just about everybody.