Mr Gore lived in The Granary which he accessed by means of a shared driveway from Church Street in Pangbourne. An express right of way for The Granary over the driveway to Church Street was granted in a conveyance dating from 1921. Part of the driveway over which the right of way was granted was later acquired by adverse possession by an owner of The Granary, and a garage (for The Granary) was built on it. Mr Gore bought The Granary and the garage in 2007.
While Mr Gore owned part of the driveway, the rest of it was part owned by the Post Office and part owned by two individuals who ran a wine shop that backed on to the driveway. They therefore used the driveway for deliveries, and those deliveries sometimes obstructed the driveway and prevented Mr Gore from accessing his garage. Mr Gore started court proceedings to obtain an injunction to stop the shop owners from obstructing the driveway.
The shop owners argued that while the right of way permitted Mr Gore to drive to his house and to park his car in front of his house for the purposes of loading/unloading, it did not extend to him being able to access his garage for the purposes of leaving a car parked there for an indefinite period of time.
Mr Gore was successful in the County Court, but the shop owners appealed the decision. The Court of Appeal upheld the County Court’s judgment. They held that the right of way granted in the 1921 conveyance did extend to allow the owner of The Granary to access the garage for parking, because the garage’s use was ancillary to the use of The Granary.
The Court of Appeal’s judgment contains no new law, but helps clarify a confusing area of law relating to easements/rights of way.
Gore v Naheed and another [2017] EWCA Civ 369
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