The issue was whether villagers in the fenlands were obliged to repair a road. If it had been dedicated as a public highway, they were obliged to do so. The land on which the road had been constructed was owned by commissioners who had bought it pursuant to statutory powers to drain specified fens and to keep them drained. They had constructed drains on it and, with the excavated earth, had built a wide bank which the villagers had used as a highway for more than 20 years. The villagers contended that any dedication by the commissioners of the road as a public highway would have been inconsistent with their powers.
Held: Parke J made clear that the contention should be addressed by means of a practical inquiry on the ground: ‘The question then is reduced to this, whether, upon the finding of the jury in this case, the public use of the bank as a road would interfere with the exercise of these powers?’ The answer was no.
Judges:
Parke J
Citations:
[1833] EngR 266, (1833) 5 B and Ad 469, (1833) 110 ER 863
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Lancashire County Council, Regina (on The Application of) v SSEFRA and Another SC 11-Dec-2019
Two appeals as to the circumstances in which the concept of ‘statutory incompatibility’ will defeat an application to register land as a town or village green where the land is held by a public authority for statutory purposes. In the first case, . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Land
Updated: 16 May 2022; Ref: scu.318260
