Dispute over roadside boulders sees council hit with legal claim

Cambridge City Council has been threatened with legal action over boulders that have been placed alongside a road in the city.

The city council said it has since issued a Community Protection Warning (CPW) to seek to give the person responsible for placing the boulder the opportunity to take remedial action to remove them.

According to the local authority, the boulders have been place along an unadopted road in Newnham ward.

Yellow tape with ‘environmental scene investigation’ written on it has also been wrapped around the boulders by the council.

However, locals say the boulders have lined the road for years and argue the rocks help make the road safer, according to a local report from the Cambridge Independent.

Local residents have also launched a petition to save the rocks, which says: “We the undersigned do not agree that the stones on the verge of no 54 Owlstone Road have any detrimental impact on the quality of life of others in Cambridge.

“We believe that they add to the safety of the Owlstone track, which is a pedestrian route from Paradise LNR (local nature reserve) to Grantchester Meadows and is used by hundreds of people every day.

“We oppose their removal and ask for the warning to be withdrawn.”

The council meanwhile said it has received legal representation regarding rights of way along the road as there is an entitlement to a carriageway width of at least 20 feet, “and the boulders placed beside it infringe upon this”.

In a statement, the council said: "Legal action was threatened against the council, or persons responsible for placing boulders there, unless they were removed."

If the CPW goes unanswered, the council may pursue a Community Protection Notice (CPN). The CPW expires 13 August.

The wording of the CPW placed states: "A CPN will tell you the things that you must do to put these problems right. Non-compliance with a CPN (not a CPW) without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence and can lead to seizure and forfeiture of items, default works and recovery of costs and / or a fine of up to £2,500 in relation to an individual."

The council said it opted to use a CPW to deal with this matter due to vehicular access rights being infringed by these rocks, and thus having a detrimental effect on others in the area.

Cambridge said it cannot disclose the identity of the complainant at this time as the correspondence is likely subject to legal professional privilege.

Adam Carey