Pippa Middleton and her husband, James Matthews, have won a planning battle concerning a section of their driveway at Barton Court in Kintbury, Berkshire. A planning inspector has declined to designate part of their driveway as a public footpath.
The couple, who moved to the estate in autumn 2022 and installed a security gate on the path, faced an application from the West Berkshire Ramblers group in January 2023 to legally recognise the path. The path in question is about 285m (935ft) long.
Inspector Kenneth Taylor found that the public's use of the path between September 2002 and September 2022 was "very limited," making its classification as a public path unjustified. James Matthews had argued that opening the path could pose a safety risk to his family.
Lady Conran, widow of the estate's previous owner Sir Terence Conran, stated she had seen only one person use the path in 30 years. Anthony Stansfeld, a Kintbury resident and former Thames Valley police and crime commissioner, considered the path to be part of a private drive.