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A legal dispute over a small strip of grass outside a home has been resolved in favor of the residents who cared for it, after their neighbors attempted to claim ownership by placing a garden gnome on the patch. Elizabeth Dobson and her partner Andrew Pleming had maintained the 2.4-meter by 0.9-meter area on Pointers Hill in Westcott, near Dorking, Surrey, for several years. They took diligent care of the grass by mowing, raking, and planting herbs and wildflowers, as confirmed during a London tribunal hearing.
In 2022, Alison and Darren Unsted, who moved in next door, challenged this long-standing arrangement, asserting that the land belonged to them. After removing Dobson and Pleming’s plants, the Unsteds installed a garden ornament, which was the catalyst for the ensuing conflict. Central to the legal arguments was the concept of adverse possession, sometimes referred to as “squatters’ rights,” a principle that permits individuals to claim ownership if they have treated land as their own for a significant period.
Dobson and Pleming maintained that the strip had been considered part of their garden for many years, including by previous occupants of both properties. Their assertion was supported by testimonies from several former tenants of the neighboring home. Initially, the First-tier Tribunal ruled that the couple had only clearly possessed the land since about 2018, which did not meet the ten-year requirement needed for an adverse possession claim.
However, this decision was overturned on appeal by the Upper Tribunal at the Royal Courts of Justice. Judge Elizabeth Cooke highlighted the care given by Dobson and Pleming to the disputed land, stating, “It seems to me perfectly obvious that the appellants were in possession of the disputed land.” The judge determined that the couple and those before them had possessed the strip since at least 2002, well before the neighbors’ arrival. As a result, the court ordered that Dobson and Pleming’s application to officially register the land should proceed, disregarding the Unsteds’ objection
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