At last – A line in the sand!
Andrew Jackson Solicitors LLP is delighted to announce that it has put to rest a centuries old legal argument concerning an exclusive right to fish in an area of The Wash near Hunstanton, north east of King’s Lynn.
Since the mid-19th century there have been several disputes between the local landed estate and local fishermen as to the exact position of the boundary between the public fishery and private fishery. Until the late 1970s there was a dispute as to whether or not the private fishery existed at all. However, in 1978 in the Court of Appeal the estate established its right to the private fishery but since that time there has been an ongoing dispute as to its boundary.
The current proceedings were started in 2007 when local fishermen took it upon themselves to fish in what they alleged were public fishing grounds and the estate challenged them. The case proceeded through the High Court then on to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court. In April of 2016 the Supreme Court found in favour of the local fishermen. The estate had claimed that as creeks and channels dried up and sandbanks were added to the shoreline then their several fishery should extend outward. The Supreme Court found against them. Unfortunately, although the Supreme Court set out the parameters for determining the boundary, the boundary itself was not set by them; that matter was left for the parties to either agree between themselves or for the High Court to determine.
In June 2018, the case returned to court where evidence from experts in hydrography was heard as to where the boundary should be drawn based upon the criteria set out by the Supreme Court. On 27 July Mr David Halpern QC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge ruled in favour of the fishermen and their expert and after centuries of wrangling a line was finally, and quite literally, drawn in the sand.
Andrew Oliver, a partner with Andrew Jackson, said: – “This has been one of the most fascinating cases of my career involving everything from feudal law through to highly technical hydrography”.
Andrew was assisted by senior solicitor Paul Newbon as well as instructing barristers Guy Featherstonhaugh QC and Phil Sissons of Falcon Chambers, London. Expert evidence was provided by Steve Taylor of Geomatix Limited based in Barrow upon Humber.
Andrew added that after many years of legal disputes and wrangling he is pleased that the case has now ‘come out in the Wash’!
ENDS