The owner of an award-winning wellness retreat has been ordered to pay £90,000 in legal costs after blocking a GP surgery's car park with her Bentley during a dispute over access rights.
Joy Jarvis, 74, who runs the Glasshouse Retreat in Essex, became embroiled in a court battle with Dr Reshma Rasheed over a narrow driveway that provides access to both Jarvis's property and the surgery's car park. The driveway is owned by Jarvis and her husband Brian, who purchased the land behind it in 2021 for development.
Central London County Court heard that Jarvis parked her Bentley on the driveway in August 2021, effectively landlocking the surgery's car park and preventing patients and staff from entering or exiting. Judge Alan Johns dismissed the Jarvis's claim that Dr Rasheed only had rights to use the front section of the lane, ruling that a 1973 conveyance and over 50 years of use confirmed her right of way over the entire driveway.
The judge acknowledged that Jarvis regretted the incident but ordered her to pay £90,000 towards the legal costs of the dispute, which lawyers described as neighbours 'headbutting each other for years.' The Jarvis's are seasoned property developers with four decades of experience, and also own the Glasshouse Retreat, which features a natural swimming pond, wellness dome, and 21 rooms.
