The owner of a strip of land alongside the River Gambia and which was ‘regularly and without inconvenience’ accessed by his customers from the river failed in a contention that his land was ‘landlocked’ so as to give him a way of necessity over adjoining land to the public highway.
Held: Lord Oliver explained the principle underlying the grant of a right of way of necessity by implication: ‘It seems hardly necessary to state the essentials for the implication of such an easement. There has to be found, first, a common owner of a legal estate in two plots of land. It has, secondly, to be established that access between one of those plots and the public highway can be obtained only over the other plot. Thirdly, there has to be found a disposition of one of the plots without any specific grant or reservation of a right of access. Given these conditions, it may be possible as a matter of construction of the relevant grant (see Nickerson v Barraclough) to imply the reservation of an easement of necessity.’
Lord Oliver
[1990] 61 P and CR 194
Commonwealth
Citing:
Cited – Nickerson v Barraclough CA 13-Dec-1980
The defendant appealed a finding that the plaintiff had a right of way of necessity over his land. When looking to see whether a grant of a right of way of necessity was implied, the court should ascertain the intention of the parties and public . .
Cited by:
Cited – Adealon International Proprietary Ltd v London Borough of Merton CA 25-Apr-2007
The claimant had bought land from the council. The only means of access was over land retained by the council but there was no grant of a right of way. The claimant now appealed refusal of a right of way by necessity.
Held: At the time of the . .
Cited – Sweet and Another v Sommer and Another ChD 25-Jun-2004
Part of land had been sold off. By oversight no right of way had been taken in favour of the retained land. The dominant owner argued that by demolition of a building a means of access could be found and that therefore no right of way by necessity . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 15 August 2021; Ref: scu.253283 br>