A “long and bitter dispute” between neighbours in one of London’s most exclusive streets has been settled by the High Court.
Paul Rayden, a director of Harley Street-based property management company County Estate Management Ltd, fell out with neighbour George Perlman after carrying out reconstruction works at his £3m home, which backs onto Lord’s cricket ground in North London.
The millionaires had been friends until Rayden carried out the extension works, including the addition of a first-floor bedroom and a family room on the ground floor of his property at 6 Elm Tree Road, St Johns Wood, London NW8.
The family room has since been demolished by order of Westminster City Council on the ground that it did not comply with dimensions contained in the planning permission.
Perlman, a US tax attorney, who lives at no 6A, owns the road upon which his neighbour’s house stands. He claimed that Rayden had a right to use the roadway only as a right of access and for the purposes of carrying out repairs and maintenance to his home.
Patten J agreed that use of the roadway constituted a trespass, since none of the building renovations were works of repair or maintenance, but added that Perlman, in initially allowing Rayden to carry out the building work via his road, had consented to that use for some of the works.
He said: “This seems to me to be the clearest possible case of someone standing by, aware of his own rights, but allowing the other party to believe that they would not be enforced against him.”
Although awarding Perlman around £20,000 in damages, plus £5,000 aggravated damages for mental stress, the judge has refused to order the removal of any other works.
He said that, because the extension works had “caused no damage to Perlman’s property, as opposed to his feelings”, the consequences of ordering their removal would be “wholly disproportionate to the damage suffered”.
With respect to Perlman’s objection to “unsightly” lights fixed outside the Rayden property, the judge said: “It is fairly clear to me that Perlman’s real objection to the lights is that they serve literally to illuminate what Rayden has done to his house and give to no 6 a prominence that Perlman clearly finds objectionable.”
Perlman v Rayden and another Chancery Division (Patten J) 8 October 2004.
Michael Driscoll QC and Kevin Leigh (instructed by Lucas McMullan Jacobs, of Leyton) appeared for the claimant; Derek Wood QC and Marc Dight (instructed by Teacher Stern Selby) appeared for the defendants.
References: EGi Legal News 12/10/04