A dispute has arisen between the builders of a new housing estate and a local entrepreneur regarding the ownership of a wall that is only two bricks tall. Lioncourt Homes claims the necessity to demolish the ‘dwarf wall’ in order to establish an emergency access route, as stipulated in their planning permission.
However, Roger White insists that the two-brick high wall, situated next to a development of 70 homes in Hempsted, Gloucester, is his property. According to Mr. White, the wall is located on land he inherited from his late father in 1997 and has a valuation of £10,000 as of 2017, as reported by GloucestershireLive. Feeling intimidated by the developers, Mr. White alleges that they did not approach him for a purchase prior to commencing construction work. In response, the developers issued a cease-and-desist letter to Mr. White, asserting that he had “no entitlement to a ransom” over the wall.
The 58-year-old IT worker has voiced his concerns, stating, “My father always said to me ‘keep an eye on it’ and occasionally I would check on it and see that nothing had changed for years. About a month ago I noticed there was a development going on and there was a concrete fence and it was all opened up. I went online and I found the actual planning permission itself which stated that because of potential flooding in the lane entrance, planning authorities required that there would be an emergency access put in for emergency vehicles. That emergency access was going to be across my land and obviously across my dwarf wall. I contacted Lioncourt Homes and said ‘you don’t realize I own this’ and they came back and confirmed in writing that it was my dwarf wall.”
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Lioncourt claims to possess documents dating back to 1964 proving its ownership of the wall, while Mr. White insists he has paperwork from 1971 demonstrating the wall belongs to him.
In response to the cease-and-desist letter, Mr. White’s solicitors argued that it is Lioncourt Homes' responsibility to prove the wall is within its property and whether it forms part of the public road.
Mr. White emphasized that while he does not oppose the development, the developers “need to make sure everything is done properly,” and that they cannot simply “bulldoze” the wall and proceed with the work without addressing his rights.
Notably, Mr. White highlighted, “If they need to demolish the wall they need to buy the wall. I don’t know what happens if they just bulldoze the walls. I have a solicitor now who is helping me with this.”
The roots of this conflict trace back to Mr. White’s father, Ernie, a local estate agent in Gloucester who acquired several ‘ransom strips’ as potential investments. Mr. White stated, “My dad left me this dwarf wall for a reason.”
In their defense, a spokesperson at Lioncourt Homes affirmed, “Works required to implement our planning permission is in land wholly owned by Lioncourt Homes or is in adopted highway land, no third-party land is required.”
Echoing this, a spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council suggested, “The council considers that the works to create the emergency vehicle access as required by planning can be lawfully implemented.”