Field Common Ltd v Elmbridge Borough Council [2008] EWHC 2079 (Ch), 27 August 2008. The case shows that constructing a road over another's land without permission may lead to the developer being liable for those who unlawfully use the road. The case concerned a case of trespass by a local council who tarmacked land without consent when widening a road and how the damages for the trespass should be assessed. Long negotiations to agree a purchase price for the land came to nothing. At an earlier hearing the court dismissed the council's claim to a prescriptive right of way. The council had trespassed and damages would be awarded to the landowner. The freeholder sought damages on the basis of what the authority would have had to pay if a right to use the land had been negotiated. Held: the High Court said the council had encouraged tenants of a nearby industrial estate to trespass on the landowners land and therefore damages should reflect the extra rent it could have charged with the benefit of the improved access road. The court left it to the two sides to agree a sum based on its rulings.