Whorlton pub owner wins legal battle over access across the green

A LEGAL fight over access to the rear of a dale pub has left villagers counting the cost.

Whorlton and Westwick Parish Council and GA Carter Ltd were to go toe-to-toe over access to the housing at the rear of the Fernaville’s Rest pub in Whorlton.

But the council was forced to “wave the white flag” just days before a court hearing after a barrister dismissed their chances of winning.

Parish clerk Jonathan Dickinson told the last week’s meeting how council solicitors had given it a “75 per cent chance of winning” in the months leading up to the case before the plug was pulled.

He said: “The barrister said he did not think we would win – the insurers then stated they would not fund the case any further. It not only would have been very foolish to ignore that advice but it was practically impossible to get any authorisation at such a late stage. We just had to wave the white flag and concede defeat.”

The dispute began when landowner Gillian Carter won approval from planners to build three homes at the rear of the pub in 2016.

Parish councillors blocked the right of way to the site – claiming it was part of the village green. This led to Ms Carter taking up the matter in the civil courts.

After months of legal wrangling, Ms Carter will now have access to the site and it is unknown how much insurers or the parish council will be forced to pay up. Cllr George Stastny directed his fire on the council’s solicitors.

“I feel very strongly we have been let down by our solicitors – I would go as far as saying they are negligent,” he said. “They know a parish council needs four days to arrange a meeting and we were not in a position to call one to make a decision.

“They had the paperwork for months and months – it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Cllr Stastny suggested the council could file a no win no fee case against the solicitors to “take them to task”.

However, councillors felt such a move would be premature until all the costs from the access case were discovered.

Cllr David Kinch agreed the solicitors had not given the council enough time to meet.

He said: “We should be writing to the insurance company and explaining to them that they have done the dirty on us.”

Councillors heard how Mr Dickinson was forced to take the decision to give up on the council’s behalf after the insurers pulled out and solicitors demanded £8,000 up front to go ahead.

Cllr Kinch feared the eventual legal costs could run into the thousands. Speaking after the meeting, he said: “They don’t know if they’re going to be paid by the insurance company. It could be quite a few thousand pounds and there is only a few thousand in the bank.”