Retired teacher wins access case, then council blocks route again
An 81-year-old retired teacher in Derbyshire won a three-year legal battle against her local council over access to her home, only to face a fresh dispute after the council placed concrete blocks outside her property. Helene Ball challenged Derbyshire County Council after it cemented over a 98cm gap in her garden wall, which she and her family had used unopposed for over 40 years to access an adjoining council-owned car park. The judge ruled in her favour, establishing prescriptive rights to the route and ordering the council to pay her legal costs of £50,000.
Following her victory, the council placed 54 concrete 'Lego-style' blocks (2ft high) along the narrow road behind her property, effectively preventing vehicular access despite the court order guaranteeing it. The judge's ruling criticised the council's legal team for their "surprisingly combative" approach and described the litigation as "pugnacious", whilst the council itself admitted the original fence had been "unreasonable". Mrs Ball is now preparing another legal battle to force removal of the blocks, with her son arguing the council is deliberately undermining her court-ordered access rights.
- Woman wins £50,000 legal battle with council over garden gate access rights
- Council places 54 concrete blocks after losing, making access impossible anyway
- Judge criticised council's combative and pugnacious legal approach in original ruling
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “Retired teacher, 81, scores common sense victory over council 3 years after it blocked her garden gate – only for it to drop more ‘concrete Lego blocks’ outside her home”.