Pensioner's court victory over Derbyshire council which fenced her into her own back garden
An 81-year-old retired teacher has hailed victory over a Derbyshire council which fenced her into her own back garden following a costly three-year court battle.
Helene Ball, who has lived at her home in George Road, Matlock, since 1967, discovered early on April 26, 2023 that Derbyshire County Council had cemented a metal fence panel across the 98cm gap in her rear garden wall.
In the three years since, Mrs Ball has been in the thick of a costly legal battle of around £50,000 against the county council over the access issue, with a judge in the first tier tribunal court hearing ruling in her favour.
Mrs Ball proved that she and her family had used the route out of the back garden, through a gate in her wall, over the neighbouring county council car park for more than 40 years, unopposed, and as such had prescriptive rights – with use stretching back 59 years in total.
These rights will now be added to the deed for the land, the council has been ordered by the courts to pay Mrs Ball’s costs, and to ensure her pedestrian and vehicular access is not impeded again, as it has been for three years.
The fence panel over her rear garden gate was removed within a year but the vehicular access had been blocked throughout the whole time period, while the Cavendish Road car park itself has been on the market for sale as a small housing development.
The county council said refused to comment on or provide the cost of the extensive legal challenge.
Visiting the site, county council workers were in the process of installing large concrete blocks through the car park from the entrance, to provide a route for Mrs Ball’s car up to her rear garden from Cavendish Road.
The court ruling from Judge Robert Brown details that legal representation from the council was “surprisingly combative” given its “limited evidence” and “unsubstantiated assertions”.
Judge Brown found parts of the legal representation for the council “totally irrelevant”, “most unhelpful” and dubbed the litigation “pugnacious” – wanting to start an argument and doing so forcefully.
The installation of the fence and legal challenge started under the previous Conservative administration, but the continuation and final tribunal court hearing took place under Reform UK control.
Mrs Ball, 81, a retired teacher, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I have taught nine, 10 and 11 year olds all my life but I never expected the council to act so babyish, they have been spitting their dummies out of the pram and it has been beyond childish.
“It is absolutely shocking behaviour. They did everything they could to bully me.
“I just want to live peacefully. I am a strong woman and it has brought out my stubborn side.
“I dealt with bullies at school and then found myself being bullied again.
“They tried to put us off but they messed with the wrong ones.”
She continued: “We’ve been really struggling. At my age you don’t know how many years you have left and this has given me three years plus of stress but now we have proven they blocked our rights.
“I am disgusted that the council would behave in this manner and try to intimidate me into giving up. They have been exceedingly rude throughout and pushed me to my limit.
Mrs Ball was aided throughout her legal battle by her son, David.
He said: “It has been a long time coming and the council has tried to shut us down for three years and shut down every form of resolution or negotiation, and blanket denied our claim, with three years of distress caused to an 81-year-old woman.”
Mr Ball says the costs to his mother are in the region of £50,000, which are now being negotiated as part of the court agreement.
He detailed that the fence panel was installed two weeks after the second anniversary of his father’s death, at a time of great distress in of itself for the family, saying it was viewed as a “completely unnecessary act of aggression”.
Mrs Ball said this had “weakened her resolve” but found sufficient strength to hold her ground.
Mr Ball said: “The council chose to act with malice and incompetence and did this with wilful intent. It undermines your faith in the system and it was frightening what lengths they will go to to get what they want.”