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For most people a property on Hampstead Heath would be many mortgages or lottery tickets away, but one North London tramp has been granted the rights to a plot of land on the heath itself worth £2 million ($5.4 million) for absolutely nothing.
Harry Hallowes, who has lived in a 3.6m by 2.4m shack on the corner of the heath for over 18 years, has finally been given deeds to the thicket he calls home.
Hallowes, 71, who says he "never had any trade or profession", has been squatting on the land, in the grounds of Athlone House nursing home, for nearly two decades.
When the land was bought by outside developers he feared he would be evicted, but now an agreement made under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act has ensured that he will be there for life.
Hallowes' lawyer, Morris Evans confirmed: "Mr Hallowes is now officially the owner of the plot. Until recently the law said that if you occupied land for 12 years or more without being thrown out, then you were entitled to own it."
The developers, Dwyer Asset Management, who bought the Victorian nursing home and its grounds from the National Health Service to create 22 new apartments, had already decided to give away an area of land to the heath as a buffer to the development.
Farlane Harris, director of Dwyer Asset Management, describes Hallowes as "a very nice chap" and says they would have no problem with him living so close to the new development. "It's only a small part of the land we allocated, and as far as we're concerned it's not an issue at all."
The future of Hallowes' 19m by 40m plot is uncertain. His official ownership could prove a threat to the environment he has inherited: he already has plans for mains water, a permanent house and a lawn.
He believes permission would only be subject to "the same conditions as any property. I will probably build a garden shed first, and then see if I have enough money for more."
Heath and Hampstead Society chairman Tony Hillier said: "The shacks have been there for a long time, and we've got no objections as long as he doesn't want to build. If he tried to build on it, though, there would be strong objections."
But Hallowes doesn't have any great ambition to make money from the land: "I could sell it now, but I wouldn't because of its unique position. I can't think of anywhere in London that's more desirable. Now it's only a matter of improving the accommodation."
Assorted dustbins, bottles and metal scrap adorn his fenced off "garden", while his house consists of little more than a wooden lean-to with a tarpaulin roof. Hallowes' days consist of little more than chopping wood, cooking on a small gas stove and collecting water from the outdoor taps of nearby friends.
- INDEPENDENT
