A long-lost claim to Garway Common and Garway Hill has thrown the parish council into a difficult position in defending their claim to the land. Lieutenant Colonel James de la Billiere, Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion The Rifles has claimed ownership of the land through a Lord of the Manor title that his ancestor, Arthur Lawley of Hilston Park, inherited when he purchased Glanmonnow estate in the 1920s. The land was put up for sale almost immediately, but the title was not sold and its subsequent ownership was always a matter of conjecture. Now Mr de la Billiere is claiming that, following the sudden death of his great-grandfather, Arthur Lawley, ownership then passed to his great-grandmother Elizabeth Lawley who sold everything in the estate except the manorial title and the common land. These then, he maintains, passed by inheritance and other forms of legal transfer to him and as a result he is now the Lord of the Manor and entitled to Garway Common and Garway Hill. Garway Parish Council claims it is the owner of the land at Garway Common, Broad Oak Common and Garway Hill Common and that it has acquired this ownership through 'adverse possession' over a period of 52 years unchallenged, claiming that Mr de la Billiere's case for ownership, set out through examination of historical documentation, is irrelevant. In the 1960s, with the introduction of the Commons Registration Act 1965, the parish council entered a claim of ownership of the common land in the newly-created Commons Register. The Commons Commissioner said in a decision made in December 1974 that he concurred the ownership of the common land lay with Garway Parish Council, after finding that there was no-one alive who would attest to any alternative ownership of the common at the time. But information received from the Land Registry indicates that Mr de la Billiere has a strong case for gaining ownership of the disputed land, and it was up to the parish council whether to contest the claim. In doing so, the matter would undoubtedly go to court where the loser would be forced to pay all costs. An agreement on a form of shared usage where the council could continue to maintain the land for public use is on the table. If both parties accept, there would be no need for a costly court case. In a recent community consultation, 84 per cent of residents agreed that negotiation was the best prospect. Chairing a meeting of the parish council on Monday (15th September), Malcolm Howard suggested it would be 'totally irresponsible' of the council to commit public funds to the cause. Councillors are meeting with Mr de la Billiere on Friday (19th September) to review his final proposals and have called an extra-ordinary meeting on Tuesday 24th September so that parishioners can make a final decision on what course of action to take.