Court of Appeal refuses to let man back into village

The Court of Appeal has upheld a court order banning a Swindon man from entering his home village after he pursued a “campaign of harassment” against neighbours. The judges ruled that the court had jurisdiction to grant an anti-social behaviour injunction (ASBI) against Michael Redpath, a former local authority tenant, who continued a campaign of harassment against his former neighbours after his eviction, notwithstanding that the main victims of his behaviour were owner-occupiers. Redpath lived in Warnage Green, Upper Wanborough, when he was convicted and jailed by Swindon magistrates for a drink-driving offence, after a neighbour provided information about him. Following his release, he began a “continuous campaign of anti-social behaviour” and “harassment” against the neighbour, which included death threats and damage to the man’s home and several people’s cars. Swindon Council obtained an ASBI banning him from entering the village or engaging in anti-social behaviour there. Soon after, he was evicted from his home as a result of his behaviour and for rent arrears, but he continued his “vendetta” and was made subject to two further ASBIs at Swindon County Court. On appeal to the Court of Appeal, Jan Luba QC, for Redpath, argued that the County Court judge had been wrong to impose the latest ASBI. Luba submitted that the order should be quashed because the ASBI had been imposed under the Housing Act 1996, whereas Redpath’s behaviour had not been housing-related and he was no longer the council’s tenant. Dismissing the appeal, Rix LJ said the court’s jurisdiction “is not to be regarded as a narrow, but a broad one”. Rix LJ held that the county court judge had been correct to find that it was sufficient that Redpath had engaged in housing-related conduct in the past. Even after he ceased to be a tenant, his past conduct remained relevant and was capable of founding an application for an injunction. Swindon Borough Council v Redpath Court of Appeal (Rix and Carnwath LJJ and Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury) 11 September 2009. Jan Luba QC and Yinka Adedeji (instructed by Shearer & Co, of Chippenham) appeared for the appellant; Andrew Arden QC and Andrew Dymond (instructed by the legal department of Swindon Borough Council) appeared for the respondent.