Following on from the last blog article. The Parish Council held an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday night (24th Nov) to discuss the situation. Five members of the public attended, three flood victims, resident W and one of his sons. The situation was reported that the contractor had been called off due to lack of written consent by resident W for access.
The proceedings were closed to enable members of the public to speak and resident W advised that he wished to have a legal agreement that the Parish Council would maintain the proposed new drain in perpetuity. (The Parish Council cannot accept such a condition but has already agreed and minuted the decision to set funds aside to cleanse the new system. Parish Council minutes are a legal document acceptable in a court of law.)
He further advised that he would not grant access as despite owning the property at 6 Scalby Lane it was tenanted by a family member and he could not say whether the tenant would allow the access. However Riparian Law relates to land owners and the council can only deal with owners not tenants. Any landlord has rights of entry for maintenance and to undertake works.
The Parish Council felt that they had reached an impasse. In the circumstances they resolved to ask resident W one more time to grant permission for access to the dyke across 6 Scalby Lane. A deadline of noon Friday to give a chance of the contractor being able to react in time was laid down and the meeting ended. If the response is not forthcoming phase 1 cannot proceed and thus phases 2 and 3 also cannot proceed. Responsibility for any future flooding can be laid directly at the door of this one individual.
It was a disappointing evening to which I thought we could get a resolution and agreement even verbally there and then. But that was not the case and there was a lot of tension from all sides which perhaps did not help matters but the gentleman in question I feel did not understand the limitation of what the a parish council can and can not do. This resulted in one of a family member of his to storm out of the meeting. As a parish council we do need help from fellow parishioners to get major projects such as this under way which benefits the village as a whole. The gentleman did have his reasons and I can sympathize to some degree but the offer is there to put right if anything breaks or is subject to damage and that is in writing on a legal document. I can only hope that he convinces his family tenant that all will be alright at the end of the project and many will benefit from what the parish council is doing for the village and through the assistance of a very small minority of the people who is assisting the project.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day we may have to use legal powers to gain access. This will of course increase the cost but I quote from the 1991 Land Drainage Act below:-
ReplyDelete64 Powers of entry for internal drainage boards and local authorities. E+W.
(1)Any person authorised by an internal drainage board or local authority, after producing (if so required) a duly authenticated document showing his authority, may at all reasonable times—.
(a)enter any land for the purpose of exercising any functions of the board or, as the case may be, any functions under this Act of that authority;.
(b)without prejudice to paragraph (a) above, enter and survey any land (including the interior of any mill through which water passes or in connection with which water is impounded) and take levels of the land and inspect the condition of any drainage work on it; and.
(c)inspect and take copies of any Acts of Parliament, awards or other documents which—.
(i)are in the possession of any internal drainage board, local authority or navigation authority;.
(ii)relate to the drainage of land; and.
(iii)confer any powers or impose any duties on that board or authority..
(2)A person entitled under this section to enter any land—.
(a)may take with him such other persons and such equipment as may be necessary; and.
(b)if the land is unoccupied, shall, on leaving it, leave it as effectually secured against trespassers as he found it..
(3)Except in an emergency, admission to any land shall not be demanded as of right under this section, unless notice of the intended entry—.
(a)has been given to the occupier; and.
(b)if the land is used for residential purposes or the demand is for admission with heavy equipment, has been given not less than seven days before the demand is made..
(4)Where injury is sustained by any person by reason of the exercise by an internal drainage board or local authority of any of their powers under this section, the board or authority shall be liable to make full compensation to the injured person..
(5)In case of dispute, the amount of the compensation payable under subsection (4) above shall be determined by the Lands Tribunal..
(6)If any person intentionally obstructs or impedes any person exercising a power conferred by this section, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale..
(7)This section shall not apply in relation to land belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or the Duchy of Lancaster, in relation to land belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall or in relation to land belonging to a government department..
(8)This section shall be without prejudice to any other enactment conferring powers of entry..
Following on from an article in the Goole Times about the obstructive behaviour I have heard on the grapevine that the few who were blocking the project have had a change of heart and the job is supposed to be going ahead. I hope this is true as I simply could not bear to be flooded again.
ReplyDeleteThe 9th of December issue of the Goole Times contained an article which stated that the "preventers" had done a u turn and granted permission for access. Hoorah for common sense at last!
ReplyDelete