Highway Board  Goytrey – Another Encroachment

The chairman pointed out that a new wall had been built last week by Enoch Waters in the parish of Goytrey, which constituted an encroachment.

The wall was built outside a shed, which Waters was ordered to pull down for the same reason. Every year he encroached a little.

The surveyor remarked that he had not put a coign on the end of the wall, but had left it, apparently so as to be able to continue his building operations at another time.

Mr W H Rees asked if the wall was not beside Waters’ own property.

The chairman said Waters had not a bit of land and explained how he had obtained and how he held his house and garden. When he, (Col. Byrde) was in Ceylon there was a line of plum trees about a yard inside the present hedge, that fence was removed about a yard out by Waters, and when the house was built Mrs Phillips allowed him to build upon a bit of garden which extended to the front of the house, and the piece taken in front of that belonged to the public, and Enoch Waters had built a permanent shed in front, and then built a cart shed then tried to take a piece of land all the way along. They must stop further encroachment.

Mr W H Rees asked if there was not an Act by which a person could take a piece of waste.

The chairman said under Lord Campbell’s Act said the owner of land adjoining a waste might take it within fifteen feet of the centre of the road. The person to take in the piece of land referred to was the Marquis of Abergavenny, and until he took it in it belonged to the parish. Therefore the people Waters was robbing were the parishioners of Goytrey.

The surveyor said that Mr Waters had told him that he wished to have no bother with the board and asked whether the board would sell him the piece of land; he would rather buy it.

The Chairman said he would dared say he would rather buy it but the Board could not sell it. He should propose that the surveyor be instructed to take steps to prosecute Waters for the encroachment and thus keep him from proceeding further with his building operations.

The Marquis of Abergavenny at one time sent men to pull down a fence which had been put up there, and was an encroachment.

After further conversation Col. Byrde suggestion was adopted, and the surveyor was instructed to apply for a summons against Waters