The owners of a historic Fife mansion, who were ordered to stop hosting weddings because of misbehaving guests, have lost a second legal battle over use of a single track road.
Lawyers acting for Ian and Ruth Macallan appealed to reverse a previous decision after the couple took farmer Ian Arbuckle to court.
Mr Arbuckle owns a farm beside the Macallans’ 18th century Carphin House.
The Macallans, of Luthrie, near Cupar, wanted an order which would allow them to use passing places and verges on a single track road, which they use to get to the property.
They also wanted an order which would prevent the Arbuckles – who own the land – from “obstructing” the passing places and verges.
The parties live on properties which once formed part of the Carphin Estate.
In 2016, previous owner Tobin Wemyss subdivided the estate up and sold the mansion house to the Macallans.
The Arbuckles purchased their farm soon after.
Judgement issued
The proceedings between the two parties focused on legal agreements which were drawn up following the sales.
A sheriff concluded the Macallans have “no right” to use the passing places and verges and are only legally entitled to use the road itself.
The sheriff refused to allow the case to go to proof – a civil trial.
This prompted lawyers acting for the Macallans to go to the Sheriff Appeal Court in Edinburgh to try to reverse the decision.
However, Sheriff Principal Marysia Lewis, Sheriff Fiona Tait and Sheriff Thomas McCartney upheld the previous decision.
In a written judgement, Sheriff Principal Lewis concluded their colleague had not misinterpreted the law.
We do not accept… a right to move onto a passing place or onto the verges which lie out with the burdened area to allow other vehicles to pass is necessary” – Sheriff Principal Marysia Lewis
She wrote: “The appellants maintain that the ancillary right is to have vehicular access to the Mansion House: not simply the right to use the access road.
“That is not what they acquired through the grant.
“We acknowledge that a vehicle which cannot make progress along the roadway in face of oncoming traffic because it must reverse all the way back to the start instead of back only to the most recent passing place is inconvenienced – and no doubt sometimes significantly so – but we do not accept… a right to move onto a passing place or onto the verges which lie out with the burdened area to allow other vehicles to pass is necessary for the comfortable use and enjoyment of the servitude.
“For the foregoing reasons, we do not find favour with the submission that the sheriff erred in refusing to appoint a proof before answer.”
Ongoing dispute over venue
In January 2019, the Macallans were ordered to stop hosting weddings after complaints about guests spewing and urinating in public.
Residents complained about parties being held at the 18th century property.
The Macallans used the house to host weddings in the grounds and claimed the business would create jobs and generate revenue for the local economy.
However, horrified residents in the village said rowdy wedding revellers were making their lives a misery with some even complaining about drunken female wedding guests urinating in public areas.
The Macallans maintain they have not been treated fairly throughout the lengthy saga.
