'Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos': he who owns land owns everything up to the sky and down to the centre of the earth. To what extent is this Latin phrase misleading today?

It may be advisable to first consider what is meant by 'ownership of land'.

• Identify that technically all land is owned by the Crown.
• A persons 'ownership of land' is rather a proprietary right to possess and enjoy the land for a period of time. This is known as an 'estate' and the freehold estate bestows upon a person rights over the land that are, for all practical purposes, tantamount to absolute ownership.

Assess the way ownership of land no longer means having rights over everything up to the sky and down to the earth. This may include consideration of:

• rights extending only as far as the lower airspace and not the upper airspace. Explain how lower and upper airspace is determined. Key authorities include Anchor Brewhouse Developments v Berkley House (Docklands Developments) Ltd (1987); Bernstein of Leigh (Baron) v Skyviews & General Ltd (1978); Civil Aviation Act 1982;
• statute qualification over rights to certain things found in the ground, for example Coal Industry Act 1994;
• ownership of treasure found on your land belonging to the Crown: Treasure Act 1996/Treasure (Designation) Order 2002;
• ownership of other items found on your land. Key cases include Moffat v Kazana (1960); Waverley BC v Fletcher (1996); Parker v British Airways Board (1982);
• ownership of plants and animals found on the land;
• rights where water flows over the land;
• what actually amounts to land: the fixtures and chattels debate. Key cases include Holland v Hodgson (1872); Botham v TSB Bank plc (1997).

Draw conclusions from the analysis above.