Locals cheer as council removes fences blocking bridleway following bitter six-year legal battle – although owner threatens to take the case to European Court of Human Rights

Delighted villagers cheered as council workers demolished gates used by a homeowner to block a road, ending a bitter six-year legal battle over a controversial bridleway.

David Moore, 63, and his wife Dawn, 59, had spent £325,000 taking their case to the High Court, insisting the public road did not pass in front of their “million pound” home.

They even announced that they planned to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that their rights to their home had been violated; this will potentially take their total costs to around £400,000.

But county council workers turned up at their property in Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, on Monday after they ignored an official notice to reopen the bridleway to locals, ramblers and horseback riders.

Workers, some wearing high-visibility jackets, moved into the facility and began dismantling three gates and removing thick thorny bushes that had been allowed to grow in patches.

Mr. Moore, Dr. An ambulance was called twice because the cancer specialist, who works under the name Dawn Carnell, said his wife had become ill as a result of the procedure, but the situation continued, with respectful staff temporarily stopping each time.

At one point Mr Moore walked towards cheering onlookers while he was filming the hearing and one of them told him: ‘I’m cheering because the bridleway is now open.’

Mr Moore, who runs an oncology business with his wife, said angrily: ‘Oh. Open at the expense of my wife’s collapse, right? Are you happy with this?’

Gates and signs warning locals, ramblers and horseback riders not to use public roads were erected in 2019

But parish council chairman Wayne Morris told the Mail: ‘After nearly six and a half years, we are delighted that the issue has finally been resolved and the village walk has reopened.

‘A huge amount of time and money was wasted on something that was known from the beginning; money that the county council should not have to spend defending issues that are constantly being proven.

‘Mrs Moore’s poor health as a result of the opening of the bridge is a direct result of their own actions and continued refusal to accept the truth.

‘The Moores had little thought for the health and welfare of their neighbours, who had gone through a series of highly stressful trials to get to this position.’

Another local, who wished to remain anonymous, added: ‘I have no sympathy. [for them]. For six years people have been deprived of walking there.

‘They didn’t care if the neighbors had to walk their horses on busy roads in the middle of winter or worry about the impact it would have on their neighbours’ health.’

The long-running dispute involves the six-bedroom Breach House, some of which dates back to the 17th century; The Moores bought the dilapidated property for £1.2 million in 2015 before spending a small fortune renovating it.

In 2019, angry residents later discovered that the public right-of-way, which they said had run through the 1.75-acre property for at least 100 years, had been blocked off with signs and locked gates; The Moores claimed that the bridleway actually passed between two nearby cabins.

The local people are very happy and grateful to be able to walk this path once again after a long legal struggle.

Hertfordshire County Council workers wearing high-vis jackets removed fences and gates

Hertfordshire County Council became involved and issued an order stating that the bridleway passed through the couple’s land, leading the Moores to take their case to the Planning Inspectorate.

During a four-day hearing, senior definitive mapping officer Gavin Harbour-Cooper revealed that the council had investigated the issue in 1956 and concluded that the road passed through Breach House.

However, when the first ‘Definitive Map’ was prepared three years later, although the Definitive Description gave correct information, it showed the ‘wrong route’ between huts.

Nigel Adams, founder of online estate agents BigBlackHen.com and whose parents owned Breach House from 1973 to 1985, said he handled the sale of the property to Mr Moore and his wife in 2015.

He added: ‘During this process I discussed the existing bridleway and its route through the Breach House estate many times with the Moores.’

William Marques, who lived in the house in the 1960s, also remembered the bridge path passing through the house.

He described how he used this route to get to his grandparents’ house because the only other route was the road and ‘it was too dangerous’.

But Mr Moore said at the inquest the council accepted the bridleway signs next to his home in 2020 were incorrect so they were removed.

The Moores bought Breach House for £1.2 million in 2015 and spent a significant amount of money renovating it to make it now a “million pound” property.

The couple says the bridge should pass between two cottages just west of their home

He insisted: ‘When I bought the property I was not aware of the existence of a bridge crossing the property.’

When the planning inspector ruled against the Moores, they appealed to the High Court, where the judge again backed the villagers and noted the ‘inherent implausibility of the Claimants’ claim’.

They were denied the right to go to the Court of Appeal last year, leading to the current bitter debate over the ECHR.

In an interview last month, Mr Moore said he would inform the county council that he would ‘follow the Article 8 human rights argument of the ECHR, as well as Article 1, Schedule 1’.

He added: ‘This all revolves around the 2015 decision to change my purchasing parameter which is now enshrined in the Supreme Court.

‘You have the right to receive what you purchased after carrying out all due diligence.’

Discussing the six-figure sum he and his wife have spent on the unsuccessful legal battle, Mr Moore told the Mail earlier this year: ‘Cost is really out of the question at this point. What matters is whether you think you’re right or wrong.’

He added that his wife supports him ‘100 per cent’ in his ongoing legal battle because they both believe the council was at fault in providing incorrect documentation when purchasing their home.

County council leader Wayne Morris said ‘a huge amount of time and money was wasted’ on the case

Local residents Michael Northfield and Simon Hedley gain door access to Mr Moore’s property

A planning inspector has backed Hertfordshire County Council’s earlier decision that the bridleway passes through the Breach House estate. Now a Supreme Court judge has agreed

‘This isn’t me going on an expedition into the wilderness, putting on my tin hat and saying, ‘Whatever happens, happens,” he said.

‘This is two sensible people who looked at the position given in 2015 and knew they were correct.’

The bad blood created by the dispute saw Mr Moore, whose wife works at University College Hospital in London, complain about punitive damages, including scratches and harassment on their car.

Meanwhile, the owners of two neighboring cottages, including Mr Morris, contributed tens of thousands of dollars to their own legal fees.

A Hertfordshire County Council spokesman said: ‘Contractors working for our Countryside and Rights of Way service attended a site in Little Berkhamsted today to remove obstructions to the bridleway so that members of the public can use the route freely.

‘We are obliged by law to ensure that public rights of way are freely used by the public, as are landowners who have rights of way.

‘In this case we have issued a formal notice to the landowner, setting out clearly what his legal obligations are and requesting that he remove any obstructions from the bridleway.

‘Unfortunately the barriers remained in place and we had to use our enforcement powers to physically remove the barriers.’

The Moores have been approached for comment.