A POTENTIAL violation of a family’s human rights to stay in Guernsey could see the Housing Department forced to give them a licence. Stephen Hargreaves was unsuccessful in obtaining a licence in an appeal in March last year, but the family made another application following the enactment locally of the human rights law in September.
That was also refused by Housing and the family’s appeal against that decision began in the Royal Court yesterday.
If the latest appeal, the first of its kind since the law was introduced, is successful it could lead to a string of other such applications.
Yesterday saw a dramatic move by Crown Advocate Richard McMahon, representing Housing. He requested an adjournment so that he could provide further evidence as to why the most recent application was turned down.
‘The line of argument that is being developed has gone further than that pleaded,’ he said.
But the move was opposed by Advocate Peter Ferbrache, representing the family, and turned down by Lt-Bailiff Richard Southwell.
He said Advocate McMahon should not have left it so late before asking for an adjournment, having sat through Advocate Ferbrache’s submissions, if he knew there was a problem.
‘This application is far too late,’ said Mr Southwell. ‘Evidence could have been established months ago. The standing of the Hargreaves remains in doubt and they’re entitled to know as soon as possible where they stand.’
Before Advocate McMahon’s move, Advocate Ferbrache had argued that the decision to reject the latest application had gone against the human rights law. He said the island should now be considered their home. They had made considerable connections and relationships and their children had lived in the island for the vast majority of their lives.
The Hargreaves family came to Guernsey in July 1996 on a five-year licence when Mr Hargreaves was appointed director of Littlewoods construction firm. In May 2001 he was granted a further two years after being appointed managing director of the same company.
However, his status was jeopardised in March 2003 when Littlewoods went into liquidation. Under a temporary licence granted until July 2003, he took on the role of quantity surveyor for building consultancy firm EAM. The job would warrant a five-year licence, but Housing refused to grant one as that would have allowed the family to live in Guernsey long enough to achieve residency.
An appeal against that decision was dismissed in the Royal Court in March 2006.
When the human rights law came into effect locally, the Hargreaves hoped it would change their circumstances and submitted five applications.
One was for his children, aged 15 and 17 at the time, because they had lived the majority of their lives in Guernsey. One was for Mr Hargreaves as an essential worker for EAM, another was for his wife, Gisela, a teacher at St Andrew’s Primary School, and the fourth and fifth applications were intertwined as he and his wife had built up strong and familiar connections with many aspects of Guernsey.
All were turned down by letter in October.
Advocate Ferbrache said the reasons given in Housing’s eight-page response lacked the evidence required in relation to the human rights law.
He said: ‘It was a long letter, but that does not mean it was a letter of substance - it just means it was a long letter.
‘The first time it’s ‘the human rights law’ mentioned is in the last paragraph of page six.’
The case is expected to reach its conclusion later today.
Article posted on 5th April, 2007 - 12.00am
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