Whilst we all thought the problems with Ashburton Grove were over and it was all systems go, it appears that there may be one last (and possibly meaningful) obstacle to overcome.
Back in the 1770’s a man called John Dawes bought much of the area now known as Highbury and started developing it for housing. In 1805 Highbury Lodge was built, and there lies the problem. Opponents to the scheme have unearthed a covenant pertaining to the original sale of Highbury Lodge, which allows the ‘unimpeded’ use of certain areas for hunting and ‘any other country pursuits’. This covenant was attached to the Lodge, but it appears that in 1856 the covenants rights were sold on to a Mr Joseph King in perpetuity. And that’s where the problem lies. A descendent of Mr King has come to light and supported by the anti-stadium lobby is petitioning for his rights. And those rights include the whole of what is now the Ashburton Grove site.
Should (the current) Mr Kings petition be upheld, then all building work will have to end immediately, and he can actually insist that the whole site is cleared and made available to him for ‘country pursuits’. Obviously this would be devastating for Arsenal, and render all previous investment in the site as useless.
The petition is due to be heard ‘in camera’ later today, and hopefully Arsenals solicitors will be able to prove that the lack of care shown by Mr Kings antecedents to the area makes the covenant obsolete. Arsenal lawyers are said to be ‘cautiously hopeful of the right decision’.
Hopefully that decision should be made today, but if it goes against us, then what next?
For more on the history of Highbury and further details of the covenant go to British History.