DETAILS of the hefty £57,100 legal bill for Pilling Parish Council's thwarted attempt to challenge a seafront beach ownership claim have been made public.
The council has had to fork out £47,500 to meet the legal fees of Mr Ronald Wells whose claim in 2004 to own part of the beach next to
the Pilling Sands access strip was questioned by the authority.
It has also had to pay out £9,600 for its own leg
al fees.
Last year,following an appeal by Mr Wells, the High Court ruled that Pilling Parish Council had "no standing" in the matter, thwarting its challenge to the land ownership claim - and leaving the council having to cover Mr Wells'legal costs.
As previously reported in The Courier, the council was shocked by the High Court decision.
The cash to pay all the legal fees has come from previously approved precept increases,together with cash from the council's reserves.
In a statement, parish clerk Mrs Gillian Benson said a final settlement was reached on the fees. Mrs Benson said following the High Court case and Land Registry challenge, Mr Wells' solicitors had presented costs of almost £70,000 to the parish council.
She added: "Following work by the costs draftsman and further representation in court, the amount was reduced to £47,500 in total.
"The parish council has been able to draw on reserves to meet the costs, and this will not affect the electors in Pilling." The legal challenge to Mr Wells'claim was supported by a villagewidevote in December 2006, when residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of increases in the parish precept to cover the anticipatedlegal fees of the challenge.
The financial settlement over the legal fees has taken about a
year to resolve.When the High Court blocked Pilling's challenge last spring, Mr Wells' solicitor, Mr Paul Stoopes, said he understood the council was concerned about access to the sands – an issue which he said could never have been resolved through challenging land ownership.
There has been an ongoing dispute over access to Pilling/Preesall
Sands over the past five years with several Fluke Hall Lane residents
raising concerns about "boy racers", car burnings and accidents on the beach.
The dispute reached a climax three years ago when, after previously taking a 'softly softly' approach to policing the beach, Lancashire Constabulary decided to enforce the previously flouted laws governing the use of the sands.
