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English couple loses claim to neighbour's 1.4-metre garden strip used as drive

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The dispute originated when Connor and Pasquire paved over a tapering garden boundary measuring up to 1.4 metres wide in 2017. Their neighbours, Dr Dawn Moore-Elphick and Richard Moore-Elphick, objected to the encroachment and threatened in 2021 to cut through and remove the paved section. The tribunal found that prior casual use and the laying of stones by previous occupants did not meet the legal test for factual possession. Consequently, the Chief Land Registrar was ordered to dismiss the application, confirming the neighbours' ownership while not directly mandating the driveway's demolition.

Key points

  • Driving across land and laying loose stones does not meet the legal threshold required to…: Driving across land and laying loose stones does not meet the legal threshold required to establish factual possession.
  • Adverse possession of registered land strictly requires a minimum qualifying period of te…: Adverse possession of registered land strictly requires a minimum qualifying period of ten continuous years.
  • A tribunal ruling rejecting an adverse possession claim does not automatically serve as a…: A tribunal ruling rejecting an adverse possession claim does not automatically serve as an order to demolish constructed features.

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A long-running boundary dispute in Leicestershire has ended in a legal defeat for a couple who extended their driveway onto a neighbouring garden to improve access to their horse paddock. Railway expert Dr Piers Connor and his partner, Professor Christine Pasquire, have failed to establish ownership of the disputed strip of land after a First-tier Tribunal rejected their claim under adverse possession laws. The case was reported by The Independent, The Telegraph and The Daily Mail on November 5, 2026. The disagreement involves a narrow, tapering section of land measuring up to 1.4 metres wide beside the neighbouring property in Kirby Bellars. Connor and Pasquire installed a block-paved accessway in 2017, intending to make it easier for larger vehicles to enter the paddock adjoining their home. Their neighbours, GP Dr Dawn Moore-Elphick and her husband Richard, objected to the development, arguing that the newly paved section encroached on their garden. By 2021, the disagreement had escalated, with the neighbours threatening to cut through and remove the portion of paving that extended onto their property.

The couple’s claim to the disputed…

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