Primrose Hill Neighbours' £260k Legal Battle Over Basement Wall Bulge
Two millionaire couples residing in the exclusive London suburb of Primrose Hill are embroiled in a bitter £260,000 legal conflict centred on a three-foot bulge in a basement wall. The dispute pits Safina Haleema and Anthony O'Connor against their neighbours, award-winning mental health consultant Amy McKeown and her husband Matthew Dalton, concerning their £1.5 million homes.
The Core of the Dispute
The complainants, Haleema and O'Connor, allege that a concrete bulge encroaches by 90 centimetres into their property, stemming from basement works conducted a decade ago. They are seeking approximately £100,000 in compensation from McKeown and Dalton, whom they describe as baffled by the claims. However, the defendants firmly deny any trespass over the boundary line and contest the demand for both a court ruling on the boundary's precise location and the compensation sum.
Outlining his clients' position, Phillip Jones, barrister for Haleema and O'Connor, stated: 'At its heart and despite the complexity which (Mr Dalton and Ms McKeown) have sought to introduce, this is a relatively straightforward case. Did Mr Dalton and Ms McKeown - through their contractors...in the course of constructing the basement...cause or permit concrete to be poured so as to protrude up to 900mm onto the claimants' land and into what is now the claimants' basement?'
Defence Arguments and Legal Stalemate
In response, Hugh Rowan, representing McKeown and Dalton, argued that a 2016 agreement permitted a wall that 'straddled the boundary line,' but Haleema and O'Connor later changed their minds. He emphasised the absurdity of the six-year battle, which has left his clients unable to sell their home, as revealing the dispute would complicate any sale. Rowan further contended that any compensation award would constitute unfair 'double recovery,' noting that Haleema and O'Connor received an insurance payout for the concrete overspill in 2023.
Rowan told the court: 'My clients have been stuck in limbo for the past six years. They can't sell their house or move away because to do so would reveal the existence of this dispute.' He criticised the claimants' case as 'riddled with inconsistencies, contradictions, and speculations,' highlighting that even after five years, they have not clarified the extent of the alleged overspill or the remedy costs.
Court Proceedings and Future Steps
The spat, set against the backdrop of the celebrity-studded north London neighbourhood, has now reached Mayor's and City County Court, having already accumulated legal costs totalling £160,000. During a pre-trial clash, McKeown and Dalton urged Judge Nicholas Parfitt to 'strike out' the claim due to lack of clarity and inconsistency. However, after several hours of dense argument, the judge declined to dismiss the case, instead granting Haleema and O'Connor a final opportunity to prepare definitive 'particulars of claim' detailing their legal argument.
Haleema and O'Connor discovered the subterranean concrete overspill after commissioning their own basement dig in 2020, though they later abandoned the project. Their barrister, Jones, disputed any lack of clarity, asserting that 'whatever the extent of the permitted works, the defendants hugely exceeded it and encroached significantly onto the claimants' land causing damage to the claimants.' The case is scheduled to return to court at a later date, prolonging the neighbourhood feud.
