Cobo car park dispute ended as Crown buys it
A 16-YEAR long dispute over a car park at Cobo has come to an end after it was bought on behalf of the Crown.
Since about 2006 the area has been the subject of a bitter dispute over its ownership between the Castel parish constables and Thomas Holroyd, who claimed his company, AW Holdings, owned the site, referred to as 'Dunes de la Banque due Long Port' on the conveyance.
It has been bought from the company by HM Procureur Megan Pullum, in her role as HM Receiver General, for £72,500.
The car park has long been used by shoppers at the Iceland supermarket, which borders it, the neighbouring Cobo Post Office and chip shop, and users of the beach and coast.
But there were incidents over the years of alleged misuse of the car park. Vehicles were sometimes abandoned, leading to the owner at one point arranging for boulders to be placed stopping entry into the car park.
The ownership dispute has been through the courts since 2017, including the Royal Court, Guernsey Court of Appeal and most recently the Privy Council, before the final settlement was agreed.
‘Her Majesty’s Receiver General is pleased to confirm that the future of Cobo car park has finally been resolved following an amicable agreement between the parties to the dispute before the courts,’ said a spokesman for the Receiver General’s office.
AW Holdings agreed to transfer the car park to the Receiver General, representing the Crown, and the parish constables will continue to administer the site.
No taxpayers’ money was used for the purchase and the States was not involved.
The money paid by HM Receiver General comes from specific sources of income belonging to the Crown in its own right, and, said a spokesman for the Law Officers, used in this case ‘for the benefit of the public with the consent of the Crown’.
The Castel constables have been approached but not commented on the matter. Efforts to contact Mr Holroyd were unsuccessful.
