Every now and then, a court ruling comes along that reminds us that powerful forces cannot simply take what has always belonged to the people.
The High Court judgment on the Joe’s River right-of-way is one such moment. It was a mammoth legal win for a brave rural pair who were prepared to say: “Thus far and no more.”
It was also a quiet but powerful victory for every citizen who believes that heritage, community spaces, and public rights are worth defending, even when a millionaire investor stands on the other side.
For over 70 years, as the evidence showed, Barbadians walked the winding path from the southern end of the Tenby footbridge down into the Joe’s River basin. Families, fishermen, hikers, and visitors alike wandered out to the famous Teacup and Saucer monument to admire the Bathsheba view. Children explored the river, roasting breadfruit, catching crayfish and gorging on the many fruits along the trail. Tourists have stopped to take photos of the space that has long been a peaceful, communal spot for locals and visitors alike.
But in 2023, all of that came under threat. Developer Richard Haines tried to build two concrete guardwalls near the entrance of the bridge. Those walls would have curtailed the public’s access to land they had enjoyed freely for generations.
At a time when the wealthy often seem to get their way, many people feared that this too would be another case where money trumped history and community.
Thankfully, Victor Lewis and Christopher Oliver did not accept that fate. They refused to watch a piece of shared heritage be quietly fenced off. They did not walk away, even though they knew they were standing up to someone with deep pockets and resources.
Instead, they rallied public support, including a demonstration at Joe’s River with the help of activist Marcia Weekes. They also engaged the press to explain their cause, but they also sought a definitive ruling from the courts.
These men and their supporters fought, not for money or property, but for the principle that Barbadians should not be pushed aside from spaces that belong to everyone.
And the High Court listened.
Justice Patrick Wells issued a detailed 48-page judgment that left no room for doubt. He declared that there is an “absolute and indefeasible” public right of way at the southern end of the Tenby footbridge, meaning the public’s right is permanent and beyond challenge.
He ordered that any obstruction, including the walls that Haines began building, be removed immediately. He awarded costs to the claimants. And he made clear that the public’s long, continuous use of the land was real, meaningful, and supported by decades of evidence.
What makes this ruling even stronger is that the judge personally visited the site. He saw with his own eyes that the southern end of the bridge is the only safe entry point into the river basin. The other ends are either treacherous cliffs or overgrown, rocky areas and places no reasonable person would use to access the river.
He ruled that the public had always used the southern path because it was the only realistic path.
Justice Wells did not mince words in rejecting Haines’ explanations. He found the claim that the wall was meant merely as a “garden wall” to be “untruthful and incredulous”. He called the argument that it was for “reinforcement” of the banking “illogical and confounding”.
This may be only a small patch of land in St Joseph. But the true significance of this ruling is even greater. This case was about the principle that public rights cannot be quietly erased by private cash. It was about defending our natural beauty and shared spaces, and it was about reminding us that ordinary people, when they stand firm, can still win against the powerful.
Importantly, it sends a message that the law provides protection. When people use a space for decades, when a path becomes part of daily life, when a place becomes woven into culture, these are things that matter. The courts have stepped in and said: “This cannot be taken from you.”
Lewis and Oliver were not just fighting for themselves. They were standing on behalf of every Barbadian who loves Joe’s River, who values public access to nature, and who believes that our heritage is to be shared, not locked behind concrete walls.
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