Battle of the bridleway: Couple ‘ignore’ order to reopen public footpath through garden of £2m home – as they reinstall gate and accuse ramblers of ‘trespassing’ despite losing legal fight
A couple who had gates torn down at their home by council workers after losing a six-year legal battle over a bridleway could face legal action after they were accused of blocking the route again.
Workmen arrived on Monday to remove the three barriers and dense brambles that had been allowed to grow across the route that furious villagers said had been in use for more than a century.
It followed a High Court ruling that backed the local authority and the Planning Inspectorate after they confirmed the path on land beside David and Dawn Moore’s house in Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, was a public right of way.
Locals cheered as the gates were taken down – although the work was temporarily halted twice for an ambulance to attend as Mrs Moore was apparently taken ill during the furore.
At one point, Mr Moore marched towards onlookers who were filming the scene, with one telling him: ‘I’m cheering because the bridleway is now open.’
He replied: ‘Oh. Open at the expense of my wife collapsing, yeah? You happy with that?’
But jubilation has turned to renewed frustration after villagers complained at least one of the gates had been rehung and the Moores – who are believed to have spent up to £400,000 on their failed legal case – were warning anyone trying to use the bridleway that they were ‘trespassing’.
There were also claims the couple had prevented council workers from putting up a new bridleway sign on public land across the road from their house the following day after remonstrating with them.
Mr Moore, pictured on Tuesday, with one of the gates that had been taken down by the council workers
One told the Mail: ‘I have just been through, with Mr Moore telling me I was trespassing. When I continued walking he closed the gates behind me.
‘I have notified the council and sent them photos.’
Another said: ‘Dawn Moore was the first to approach [someone trying to use the bridleway] and tell him he was on the wrong path.
‘Then David came out and shouted that he was trespassing – so both of them [were doing it].’
Among other comments was: ‘Both Mr Moore and his wife were out remonstrating with the people trying to put the direction sign up, who gave up after a sob story.
‘They keep replacing a gate that is propped up and not safe and telling people to get off their land as they are trespassing.
‘They had already been warned by the council, so looks like they will be prosecuted.
‘Funny she [Mrs Moore] made a miraculous recovery to have a go at users of the bridleway.’
Hertfordshire County Council workers in high-visibility jackets removed fencing and gates
David Moore, 63, who owns Breach House with his wife, Dawn, 59, approaches locals filming the scene as council workers removed barriers to the bridleway
Gates and signs warning locals, ramblers and horse riders not to use the public path went up in 2019
The gates were removed after Mr Moore and his wife, a cancer specialist who is known professionally as Dr Dawn Carnell, ignored an enforcement order imposed by Hertfordshire County Council.
Breaching a local authority enforcement order is a criminal offence which can be dealt with by a magistrates court prosecution, where unlimited fines are available.
Alternatively, the council could demolish or remove unauthorised features and recover the costs from the owner.
Injunctions can also be obtained from the county court or High Court to halt persistent or severe unauthorised activity.
The long-running dispute involves six-bedroom Breach House, parts of which date back to the 17th century, which the Moores bought for £1.2million in 2015 before spending a small fortune renovating the dilapidated property.
In 2019, locals discovered the public right of way which runs through the 1.75-acre grounds was closed off with signs and locked gates – with the Moores claiming the bridleway actually ran between two nearby cottages.
Hertfordshire County Council became involved and passed an order stating the bridleway did cross the couple’s land, leading the Moores to take their case to the Planning Inspectorate.
During a four-day hearing, senior definitive map officer Gavin Harbour-Cooper revealed the council investigated the matter in 1956 and concluded the path ran through Breach House.
The couple say the bridleway should run between two cottages just to the west of their home
The Moores bought Breach House for £1.2 million in 2015 and spent a significant sum renovating it into what they say is now a ‘multi-million pound’ property
But when the first ‘Definitive Map’ was drawn up three years later, it showed the ‘wrong route’ between the cottages, although the Definitive Statement gave the correct information.
Nigel Adams, the 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 repeatedly discussed with the Moores the existing bridleway and its route through the Breach House land.’
William Marques, who lived in the house in the 1960s, also recalled the bridleway passing through it.
He described how he used it to get to his grandparents’ home because the only other route, by road, was ‘too dangerous’.
But Mr Moore, who runs an oncology business with his wife, told the inquiry the council had admitted in 2020 the bridleway signs by his home were wrong, so they were removed.
He insisted: ‘When I purchased the property, I was not made aware of the existence of a bridleway crossing the property.’
When the planning inspector ruled against the Moores, they went to the High Court where the judge again backed the villagers and noted the ‘inherent implausibility to the Claimants’ argument’.
Overjoyed locals are grateful to be able to walk on the path once again on Monday following the protracted legal battle
They were refused the right to go to the Court of Appeal last year but in an interview last month Mr Moore said he was looking at going to the European Court of Human Rights
Explaining he would be ‘pursuing the Article 8 human rights argument and also Article 1, Schedule 1 of the ECHR’, he added: ‘This all revolves around the decision to change my defined 2015 purchase parameter, as now enshrined in the High Court.
‘You are entitled to what you purchased after carrying out all due diligence.’
Discussing the six-figure sum he and his wife had ploughed into their unsuccessful legal battle, Mr Moore told the Mail earlier this year: ‘The cost doesn’t really come into it at this point in time. It’s whether you think you’re right or wrong.’
He added his wife supported him ‘100 per cent’ in the ongoing legal battle, as both believe the council is at fault for providing inaccurate documents when they bought their home.
‘This is not me going off on some expedition into the wilderness and putting my tin hat on and saying “Whatever happens, happens”,’ he said.
‘This is two logical people looking at the position given in 2015 and knowing they’re correct.’
The bad blood the dispute has caused in the community saw Mr Moore – whose wife works at University College Hospital in London – complaining of criminal damage, including scratches on his cars, and harassment.
Parish council chairman Wayne Morris said a ‘huge amount of time and money has been wasted’ on the case
Meanwhile, the owners of the two neighbouring cottages – including parish council chairman Wayne Morris – ploughed tens of thousands into their own legal costs.
Mr Morris has said a ‘huge amount of time and money has been wasted’ on the case.
A Hertfordshire County Council spokesman said: ‘We have been informed of this matter by local residents and are considering the options available to us.’
