Beckett (Alfred F) v Lyons: 1967

A claim was made that the inhabitants of the County Palatine of Durham had the right to take coal from the seashore.
Held: Dedication of a public right must be to the public at large or a sufficiently large section of the public at large and not just to a fluctuating body of persons in a particular locality. The right claimed could not be claimed by the public at large, as public rights in the foreshore are well defined and do not include taking minerals.

[1967] CLY 3549, [1967] Ch 449
Cited by:
DistinguishedMills and Another v Silver and others CA 6-Jul-1990
A farm’s only vehicular access was over land which was only useable occasionally when dry. The defendants laid a stone track to facilitate constant access. At first instance it was held that the earlier use had been too intermittent to allow a . .
CitedRegina v City of Sunderland ex parte Beresford HL 13-Nov-2003
Land had been used as a park for many years. The council land owner refused to register it as a common, saying that by maintaining the park it had indicated that the use was by consent and licence, and that prescription did not apply.
Held: . .
CitedBrand and Another v Philip Lund (Consultants) Ltd ChD 18-Jul-1989
The plaintiffs objected to the transport of wood from the defendant’s neighbouring land by lorry along an accessway to the plaintiff’s land. They said the defendants had no right of vehicular access. The defendants asserted a public vehicular . .

Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Land

Updated: 10 December 2021; Ref: scu.187765