Thames Water Utilities Ltd (TWU) has won the right to charge for water supplied to houses built on land formerly belonging to the West Wycombe Estate in Buckinghamshire.
In May 1999 Judge Tyrer of the High Wycombe County Court found in favour of occupiers Gerald Richardson of Walnut Tree House, Dr John Weaver of Beechwood House and the late Fletcher Codling, of Yolsun House, and ruled that the Spring Coppice supply pipe, through which water was supplied to their houses, belonged to the West Wycombe Estate. He held that in the circumstances they were under no obligation to pay for supplies which ran through it, and dismissed TWU’s claim for over £4,000.
However, in the Court of Appeal, Potter LJ said that there had been no provision in the agreement between the West Wycombe Estate and TWUs predecessors, Buckinghamshire Water Board, that water supplied to the defendants should be treated as services provided to them in respect of which TWU was precluded from recovering charges under section 142(1)(b) of the Water Industry Act 1991.
The court was told that the defendants refusal to pay had not been based upon the belief that they were entitled to receive mains water supplies free of charge, but upon their opinion that their supplies were not adequate and that the burden of maintenance in respect of the Spring Coppice supply pipe was never intended to rest on them.
Potter LJ said that the position of the defendants in this respect was “worthy of considerable sympathy”. However, it was not one which, in itself, amounted to a defence in respect of their liability to pay the water charges claimed by TWU.
Thames Water Utilities Ltd v Richardson and others Court of Appeal (Thorpe and Potter LJJ) 8 December 2000.
Michael Daiches (instructed by the solicitor to Thames Water Utilities Ltd) appeared for the appellant; David Streatfeild-James (instructed by Kidd Rapinet, of High Wycombe) appeared for the respondents.
PLS News 11/12/00
