Beautician turns barrister to win David and Goliath High Court battle with construction giant

Published 13th Nov 2009

Georgina Blackwell makes an unlikely candidate to stand up in front of a judge and take on seasoned lawyers in the High Court.

As she herself points out, she's a young, blonde beautician from Essex.

But when her mother's home and business were put at risk in an access dispute with one of the country's biggest homebuilders, the 23-year-old decided she had to fight back.

The court battle revolved around a Grade II listed former school her mother had bought in Halstead, Essex.

Ranged against her was Bellway Homes, one of the country's biggest developers. It wanted to convert land it had bought next door into luxury homes.

But Miss Blackwell emerged triumphant from her confrontation with the developers' legal team.

Not only did she manage to overturn a previous High Court judgment, she also won her mother £75,000 compensation.

'I'm a blonde, 23-year-old beautician from Essex,' she said. 'I know it doesn't look good on paper, but I think they underestimated me.

'I felt scared stiff by the huge courtroom and speaking in front of a High Court judge but I got a surge of adrenaline and thought "They aren't going to intimidate me".

'I opened the case, gave evidence, and cross-examined their solicitor. When the judgment was read out it was fantastic. I wanted to jump up and down.

'Bellway's legal team sat there with no expressions, heads down. The barrister came over and congratulated me. He said I had put up a good fight.

My mum was going to lose her business and her home and that gave me the courage to stand up and be counted.'

Her mother Sandra, 52, bought the 600-year-old former school in 2003 to open a salon called The House of Beauty.

Bellway later bought an empty factory which backs on to the garden to build 43 homes.

It believed it had a right of access to cross Mrs Blackwell's small garden, which it needed to demolish two of the factory walls. When she refused access, Bellway took her to court.

She lost the case in July and was ordered to pay Bellway's legal costs of £22,000 and a 'five-figure' sum in damages. The firm put scaffolding in the garden and began demolition.

Miss Blackwell - who was offered a place to study law at Kingston University in South-West London when she was 17 but started working in the salon when her mother broke her wrist - said: 'Our garden has three walls.
Enlarge Back to back: Bellway, whose factory is pictured to the right, took Sandra Blackwell to court to gain access to the garden in the rear of her salon, left

Back to back: Bellway, whose factory is pictured to the right, took Sandra Blackwell to court to gain access to the garden in the rear of her salon, left
Enlarge Hemmed in: Sandra Blackwell's garden is now covered by scaffolding and planks

Bellway put scaffolding in Mrs Blackwell's garden and began demolition, which was halted after they lost the court case

One of them divides us from a neighbour and the other two are where they built the factory.

'Never in a million years did we think we would be put in a position where someone would demand access, fill the garden with scaffolding, destroy the plants, cover the house with dust, and disrupt our business.'

After hearing it would cost £5,000 for a barrister to take a fresh look at the case, Miss Blackwell decided to take it up herself.

She checked the deeds to the house and discovered that the right of access was to only one of the factory walls.

She took the case back to the High Court and on Tuesday Mrs Justice Proudman ruled in Mrs Blackwell's favour and told Bellway to pay compensation.
Georgina with mother Sandra whose home and business were put at risk when Bellway Homes wanted to cross her land

Victory: Georgina with her mother Sandra, who was awarded £75,000 in compensation

Miss Blackwell added: 'It's such a massive weight off our shoulders now we know we are not facing bankruptcy. We stood up for our rights and won.

'I always wanted to be a barrister and over the past couple of days I have been looking at university places again.'

Miss Blackwell attended a nearby comprehensive, where she passed 11 GCSEs and three A-levels. Describing how she had to turn down the university place in 2004, she said: 'I wanted to get my degree so much, but I felt it was important to be there for my mum.'

Bellway said: 'We do not wish to discuss the case.'

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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