The feud began a decade later when Mr Hill, through his company Elite Town Management Limited (ETML), lodged plans for his own larger basement next door.
Mr Hill’s project involved underpinning the party wall between the two houses, maximising the size of his basement, which Mr Gray branded “entirely selfish” because of the risk to the building. Mr Hill eventually won a legal fight over the party wall, but claims he suffered eight months of delays in 2014 and 2015 because Mr Gray unsuccessfully appealed against the ruling.
Crispin Winser, for Mr Hill, said the row had become a “personal crusade” for Mr Gray, who “refuses to accept” his neighbour is entitled to build as planned.
He argued Mr Gray had taken “extraordinary steps in a blatant attempt to thwart the implementation of the works”, including claims of trespass when Mr Hill’s contractors dug and filled pits with tons of concrete extending onto Mr Gray’s property.
Mr Gray claims his neighbour then tried to hide the concrete with spoil, an accusation Mr Winser dismissed as “without foundation”.
Mr Gray told the court his neighbour had not suffered any losses by the delays, pointing out work has still not restarted on the basement even now, and is fighting any award of damages.
