EXCLUSIVE: Couple’s Cotswolds idyll is shattered by unholy row with Tory councillor neighbour over who owns tiny patio measuring 7ft x 12ft in front of their £300k four bed holiday home
- Andrew Roland and wife Skipper are locked in a three-year legal battle with their neighbour over who owns a tiny patio in the market town of Chipping Campden
- The Rowlands say they own two thirds of the disputed paved area while their neighbour Mark Annett owns a third
- But Mr Annett, a tory councillor and estate agent, who managed the sale of the property to the couple in 2016, says he owns all of it
- But three years on – and £8,000 later – they are locked in a bitter dispute over ownership of the land
A couple’s rural Cotswolds idyll has been shattered by a bitter row with their neighbour over who owns a tiny patio outside the front of their house.
When Andrew Roland and his wife Skipper bought their 150-year-old holiday cottage in the picturesque market town of Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, in 2016, they believed that the 7ft x12ft paved area belonged to them.
But three years on – and £8,000 later – they are locked in battle and heading to court with their Tory councillor neighbour who has insisted on placing his table and chairs on the disputed territory, claiming the small patch of land actually belongs to him.
Andrew Roland and his wife Skipper are in the midst of a three-year legal battle with their neighbour over who owns a tiny patio measuring 7ft x12ft in the village of Chipping Campden
The Rowlands insist that they own two thirds of the disputed paved area and that their neighbour Mark Annett owns just a third as marked by the red line on the planning documents
Their neighbour Mr Anette says the Rowlands are wrong and that he owns the entire patio and has put out a garden table and a set of chairs to mark his territory which he refuses to move
Mr and Mrs Rowland say when they bought their 150-year-old holiday cottage in picturesque Chipping Campden in 2016, they were assured that the 7ft x12ft paved area belonged to them
The extraordinary row escalated shortly after they bought the four bedroom property when the neighbour Mark Annett started putting out garden furniture and pot plants on the patio.
The Rowlands claim they politely asked Mr Annett, 66, an estate agent – who bizarrely handled the sale of the property – to remove them.
But he refused and told them that he owned the paved area.
Speaking to MailOnline about how the simmering feud has bubbled along for three years, Mr Rowlands, 53, said: ‘Shortly after buying the place we noticed a man watering the plants and he told us they belonged to Mr Annett.
‘When we asked Mr Annett to remove them he refused. Instead of taking them away, he further angered us by putting a garden table and chairs in the middle of the patio.’
The Rowlands discovered that there was a problem shortly after purchasing the traditional Cotswold stone cottage as a holiday let property in the picturesque town for £300,000.
Recognising a potential issue, they checked land registry documents which they say prove that they own two thirds of the paved area – with Mr Annett owning a third, an area of 2.5ft by 4ft.
Skipper, 43, insisted when Mr Annett sold them the house he made no mention of owning the patio.
‘The patio is directly outside one of our cottage bedroom windows so you would naturally assume it was part of our property,’ she said.
But three years on – and £8,000 later – they are locked in battle with their Tory councillor neighbour Mark Annett (pictured) who claims the small patch of land actually belongs to him
The four bedroom property was bought by the Rowlands in 2016 for £300,000 which is now let out as a holiday home for paying guests. Their neighbour Mr Annett, 66, owns an estate agency next door and a flat above that he also lets out to holidaymakers in the Cotswolds
In a bizarre twist, the Rowlands say their neighbour handled the sale of the property to them and made no mention of owning the patio at the time of the sale three years ago
The couple have checked land registry documents (pictured) which appear to back up claims that they own two thirds of the paved area with Mr Annett owning a third, an area of 2.5ft by 4ft
The extraordinary row erupted shortly after the couple bought the property when they say Mr Annett started leaving plant pots on the patch of patio that they are claiming ownership
‘He pointed to his side and said ‘that’s mine’ and he swept his arm over our side and said, ‘that’s yours’.
‘One of the ground floor bedroom windows is directly over the patio so anyone looking at it will of course assume that the area outside is on their side of the boundary.
‘All anyone has to do is apply common sense and it is obvious that the area outside our window is part of our property.’
Skipper said attempts at reaching an amicable agreement with their neighbour who owns Mark Annett & Company estate agents next door and whose office window overlooks the disputed patio area.
Mr Annett, a former leader of Cotswold District Council who is standing in Thursday’s local elections as a Tory councillor, also owns a holiday flat above his business.
He uses the patio area as an outside space for his paying guests and has installed the metal table and chairs, which he has refused to move.
The Tory councillor, who lives in a £1m home in the town and drives a Jaguar with a personal number plate, is a well known figure in Chipping Campden from his work on the district council.
He has insisted that a low stone wall at the far right hand side of the disputed area is the edge of his boundary giving him rights to the whole patio area.
The Rolands insist property deeds at the Land Registry show he is entitled to a small slither of the area that is no bigger than four feet at its widest point.
They say over the past two years letters from their neighbour’s solicitors became increasingly threatening and warned them they were trespassing by putting two stone planters on the patio.
They repeatedly pointed out they were simply following the boundary as set down in Land Registry documents but Mr Annett claimed they had been drawn up incorrectly.
He also claimed that he had use of the patio as the previous owner had been granted this right and he was claiming squatters rights or in legal terms ‘adverse possession.
The Rowlands (pictured) say the legal fight has so far cost them £8,000 but have been warned the bill could reach £50,000 by the time it has reached its conclusion
The Rolands tracked down the previous owner of their cottage who insisted the patio she had always maintained ownership.
Skipper, a former financial accountant, said: ‘It is just insane that it has come to this over a small patio area.
‘But this is a matter of principle and we will not be bullied into giving it up.
‘We are reasonable people and have tried to be as amicable as possible.’
She went on: ‘With all the evidence on our side we thought the matter would just be dropped.
‘But Mr Annett has just escalated it and is now taking us to court. We are a new business and cannot afford the sort of legal fees that his solicitor has sent us if we lose in court.
‘We know we are in the right. This has just been like a black cloud hanging over us for two years. We feel like we are being bullied. It really is a David and Goliath situation that we find ourselves in.
‘But there is the principle at stake and we have come so far we do not want to give up.’
Mr Annett declined to comment.
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