There is to be no construction which will block public access to the Joe’s River basin – including the bridge – and the path leading to the area known as the Teacup and Saucer in St Joseph.
Additionally, any structure which has been erected in the area under dispute “shall be dismantled and be removed immediately by the defendant”.
That definitive judgement, “effective immediately, and in perpetuity”, ruling in favour of the claimants, was handed down by Justice Patrick Wells today, weeks ahead of the original December deadline.
In the document obtained by The Nation, the judge ruled there was “an absolute and indefeasible prescriptive public right of way” at the end of the Tenby Foot Bridge, its environs, all the way to the Tea Cup and Saucer monument and the area immediately surrounding the monument.
“The defendant is permanently restrained from causing or permitting, whether by itself or its agents and or its servants the erecting of any obstruction of whatsoever kind, including but not limited to concrete walls, anywhere in the declared prescriptive public right of way”, previously identified in the document, it also stated.
Costs are also awarded to the claimants.
In a statement to the media, Attorney General Dale Marshall, who is also parliamentary representative for St Joseph, said he could not contain his delight at the decision.
“The rights of the residents of Bathsheba have been vindicated and what is more remarkable is the fact that the case was only heard last week and today we have in our hands an extensive and well delivered decision,” Marshall said.
“I have no doubt that the Claimant will appeal, and that is his right, but all of us are happy that the small man has been able to stand up to might and wealth, and claim for themselves for all time, a right that generations have enjoyed to come and go to Joes River as they please from time immemorial.”
In 2023, nearby residents and people who used the area voiced their concern over construction which would limit their access to the river and surrounding areas.
They protested, made it part of the national conversation and held several marches before seeking an injunction.
Attorney Gregory Nicholls represented the claimants, while Faye Finisterre and Noah Haynes represented the defendant, Ullswater Investment Ltd, the company owned by Australian millionaire Richard Hines, who also owns Tenby, the property at Bathsheba where the bridge is located. (SAT)
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