A LANDOWNER whose shooting rights were snapped up by Monmouthshire County Council to make way for Abergavenny's freshly relocated livestock market had his hopes of a £5.6 million compensation pay-out dashed by a judge.

John Hanbury-Tenison's case came before the Upper Tribunal after his shooting rights over 3.6 acres of High House Farm, Raglan, were compulsorily purchased by the council to pave the way for the livestock market's transfer.

Council officers insisted Mr Hanbury-Tenison was due no more than £1,000 for the loss of his rights under a compulsory purchase order confirmed in August 2012.

But Mr Hanbury-Tenison's lawyers claimed he was due £5,649,060 pay-out to reflect the "key role" the acquisition of his shooting rights played in the council's wider scheme to develop a supermarket and public library on the old market site in the centre of Abergavenny.

Dashing his hopes, however, Judge Martin Rodger QC ruled that he should be compensated solely on the "intrinsic value" of the shooting rights of which he had been deprived.

Any increase in the value of those rights was solely due to the council’s development scheme and stood to be disregarded, he told the Upper Tribunal.

Judge Rodger said he hoped that Mr Hanbury-Tenison and the council would now reach agreement on the amount of compensation payable.