Derbyshire council ordered to pay £50,000 after blocking pensioner’s garden access
Derbyshire County Council must pay £50,000 after a tribunal ruled it illegally blocked an 81-year-old resident’s garden entrance.
Helene Ball, an 81-year-old former teacher living in Matlock, sued Derbyshire County Council after operatives cemented a metal fence over a garden entrance she had used for more than 60 years. The first-tier tribunal upheld her claim, establishing a formal right of way and ordering the council to pay £50,000 in damages. Judge Robert Brown noted the council’s evidence was unusually combative.
The fence was removed within a year, but Ball was unable to drive from her property to the street for the duration of the legal battle, which spanned over three years and caused her considerable anxiety. The council has since created an alternative access route while marketing the site for residential development. It issued an apology for the distress caused and reiterated its duty to protect public assets.
