A bitter property dispute between two families in Essex has escalated to the Court of Appeal over ownership of a boundary wall and a strip of land just one inch across.
Darren and Debbie White have been locked in a legal battle with their neighbours, the Alder family, since 2016 when they demolished a wall separating their properties.
The dispute has left the Whites facing “death threats” – and more than £100,000 in legal costs after losing their court case.
The Whites had purchased Willow Cottage in Chelmsford in 2005, around the same time the Alders bought The Old Stores next door.
In 2016, the Whites demolished the boundary wall, claiming it was structurally unsafe and “wonky,” to make room for a garden home for their son.
The Whites bought Willow Cottage (right) in 2005, around the same time the Alders bought The Old Stores (left)
They built a straight replacement wall which, according to Mrs White, extended about one inch further than the original structure.
But unknown to the family, the previous owners had created a boundary agreement in 2005 stating the physical boundary features belonged to the owner of The Old Stores.
The Alders then took legal action against the Whites in September 2020, claiming trespass and seeking damages regarding ownership of the boundary.
This month, the Court of Appeal upheld that the boundary agreement made between previous owners also binds the current owners – even without their knowledge of the agreement.
The County Court in 2022 and a circuit judge on appeal in 2023 had previously reached the same conclusion.
Mrs White said the dispute had taken its toll on her wellbeing.
NEIGHBOUR ROWS TURN UGLY – READ MORE:
The Court of Appeal has upheld that the boundary agreement made between the home’s previous owners still applies
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“I go to bed every night and I don’t want to wake up,” she told the Mail.
“I’ve just been signed off work for two weeks with severe stress. I’m on the maximum amount of antidepressants; I keep getting the shakes.”
She said they will be forced to sell their home after accumulating more than £100,000 in legal costs, with additional damages owed to the Alders.
Her husband is currently in hospital with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
Mrs White claimed they had received planning permission to build the outhouse in 2012, four years before the work began.
She explained that after discovering the boundary agreement, she was “devastated” as they “didn’t have a clue” about it.
PICTURED: The replacement brick wall which, according to Mrs White, extends about one inch further than the original structure
“If she had come and said to me: ‘You’re clearing your garden, there’s a boundary agreement, you can’t touch those walls, you can’t do this, you can’t do that’,” Mrs White said.
She insisted the original wall was crumbling, unsafe, and needed to be removed.
Mrs White also claimed they received death threats during the dispute.
“We had threats to our lives,” she said. “You shouldn’t be threatened with murder on your doorstep.”
She specifically mentioned an incident where an unknown young man allegedly came to her door and threatened to shoot her husband over the boundary row.
The Alder family declined to comment when approached by the Mail.
