Continuing the Statutory Declaration by MRP

Paragraph 5.6, “Had he not been the owner he would not have been able to be a party to the action.”
Let’s be clear. It was Mr Whitfield himself who brought the action against the Chief Commons Commissioner’s decision. He lost.
The Hampshire County Council had in fact been acting in partnership with the commoners to preserve the whole of Broxhead Common; until that is, quite unexpectedly, they appeared to have a change of heart at the hearing of the Court of Appeal where they made themselves a respondent to the action!?

Paragraph 5.7 shows that either Mr Porter little understood the situation or that he was deliberately misleading the Land Registry.
This is because he says:

a) “The investigation carried out at the time included the study of documents several hundred years old going back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1. Such documents supplied evidence to the effect that the Common (including the Blue Land) has always been within the ownership of those who owned the Property as part of an ancient manor and supplied evidence as to the nature of various rights of common.” The case was an appeal against the Chief Commons Commissioner’s decision in the Rights section of the register of common land. Ownership was not the issue. In any case the Finance Act 1910 records Headley Wood Farm as copyhold with rights of common.
1910 Headley Wood Farm Finance Act12112021

b) “The original decision of the Chief Commons Commissioner dated 22nd November 1974 held that various parties had rights of common over the land.” Yes exactly, there are about 20 commoners recorded for Broxhead Common and almost certainly many more unrecorded. “Mr. Whitfield appealed and as a result of that appeal it was held that one party, a Mr Connell, was the only party having a right of common on the land.” That is false. The case had been dismissed.

`This is obviously the basis for the many mistakes that followed.

Next time: to be continued.

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