By Magnus Henagulph A St. George's land dispute which has raged back and forth over the last four months may be resolved later this year.

Lisa Hollis arrived home on May 4 to find that her front yard had been torn up in preparation for the construction of two houses.

She said her family has lived on the Wellington Slip Road property for 61 years and the land belonged to her grandmother.

However, developer Alex Swan from Progressive Realty claimed to have bought the land and submitted an application to planning on October 4 last year and received approval on February 16, this year.

Two legal actions are ongoing. The first was taken out by Mr. Swan relating to rights of way and other property issues.

The second action is an appeal for judicial review of the Planning decision to grant Progressive Realty permission to build on the site in question.

Ms Hollis' attorney, Ian Kawaley of Milligan-Whyte & Smith said court dates were yet to be set but expected the actions to proceed later this year.

Once a building permit had been granted, Mr. Swan contracted LL Newton Butterfield construction company to excavate the site in front of Ms Hollis's house.

But she claimed the development was illegal and also said her property had been used for access for an excavation vehicle.

She took matters into her own hands and blocked the excavation equipment in her yard by parking her car across her driveway.

This prevented the construction company from using their equipment on other sites and the first set of legal action began.

On May 10, Mr. Swan filed a writ against Ms Hollis who in turn filed an injunction against him.

The two sides met in Supreme Court on June 28 where both sides were heard in chambers.

As a result of this hearing, Ms Hollis said a trial could be held in September or early October.

However, the second legal action began when Ms Hollis filed a writ on July 27 which says: "In the matter of the administration of Justice (Prerogative Writs) Act 1978 and in the matter of the decision of the Development of Application Board dated February 16, 2000. Lisa Hollis vs. (1) DAB (2) Ministry of the Environment.'' In other words, Ms Hollis is taking the Development Applications Board and the Ministry of the Environment to court to review the decisions of the Development Applications Board and Ministry of Environment in granting Progressive Realty permission to develop the land.

House fight: Lisa Hollis is fighting development of the property in front of her Wellington Slip Road, St. George's home.