Man sued St Asaph Conservative Club after dispute about land

Cam Askan made claims of harassment and nuisance against the club after it had installed CCTV overlooking land which he believed he was in “adverse possession” of.

Mr Askan is the registered owner of the building which formerly housed St Asaph’s HSBC bank, on High Street, having bought the property in 2019.

But St Asaph Conservative Club said it installed the CCTV after Mr Askan had trespassed on the contested piece of land and removed air conditioning units belonging to the club.

A plan of the plot of land in question (contested land in orange) (Image: The National Archives) At an appeal hearing in Wrexham on July 22, Mr Justice Adam Constable ruled that Mr Askan would have been aware, when he bought the old HSBC bank property, that this did not include ownership of the contested land, because it lay on the other side of a wall to the old bank.

His initial claim was dismissed at a hearing in February, during which numerous interventions were made after a club trustee, the now-deceased David Gwyn Williams, became aggressive towards him.

But Mr Askan appealed this ruling, saying: “The judge was wrong to ignore the threats of physical violence and acts of aggression in the courtroom towards the appellant.”

It was claimed by Mr Askan that, during this hearing, Mr Williams “smelled of alcohol” and “attempted to strike” him, but that this was “effectively ignored”.

At the appeal hearing, though, Mr Justice Adam Constable rejected this.

In his written reasons, he wrote: “It is clear that the judge intervened immediately, robustly and properly when Mr Williams spoke or pointed aggressively at Mr Askan, and when later he used threatening language when being questioned.

“The suggestion that Mr Askan could not thereafter present his case effectively is wholly devoid of merit: the transcript demonstrates that Mr Askan properly continued questioning, and was able to make full, and articulate closing submissions.”

Mr Justice Constable dismissed Mr Askan’s claims for breach of data protection, harassment and nuisance.

In addition, he also found that the club’s installation of CCTV overlooking the contested area of land was not an offence.

“Mr Askan has, regrettably, lost all sense of perspective and objectivity,” he added.

“It may be that Mr Askan has had personally unpleasant run-ins with members of the club and feels aggrieved at the way he considers he has been treated by them.

“It is plain from the transcript that there is considerable bad blood, and no doubt the club felt aggrieved at the applicant’s conduct on land which, as the judge found and this judgment confirms, the club was entitled to consider it owned.”