Is there a right to use sporting & recreational facilities, asks Mark West
In Re Ellenborough Park [1956] Ch 131, [1955] 3 All ER 667, the Court of Appeal had held that the right to use an open space, comparable with the garden of a London square, as a communal garden was an easement known to the law. But could there by the same token be an easement to use sporting or other recreational facility (say) a golf course, a swimming pool or a tennis court? That was the question which came before HH Judge Purle QC in Regency Villas Title Ltd & Ors v Diamond Resorts (Europe) Ltd & Anor [2015] EWHC 3564 (Ch), [2015] All ER (D) 101 (Dec).
The facts of the case
Regency Villas Title Ltd, the first claimant, was the freehold owner of Elham House, Canterbury. Twenty-six timeshare units, known as the Regency Villas, had been built on the land, 2 in the former Elham House and 24 in the grounds, each accommodating up to six people. The
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