Pippa Middleton wins battle to keep driveway private

Pippa Middleton and her husband have won a planning battle to prevent part of their driveway being designated as a public footpath.

They moved their family to Barton Court in Kintbury, Berkshire, in autumn 2022, and installed a security gate on the path.

This prompted the West Berkshire Ramblers group to apply to legally recognise the path, which is about 285m (935ft) long, in January 2023.

But a planning inspector declined to do so and said the public's infrequent use of it over 20 years meant classifying it as a public path was unjustified.

Middleton's husband James Matthews had argued his family's safety could be put at risk if the path was opened through the estate, which was previously owned by designer Sir Terence Conran.

Legally, a public footpath can be "deemed to exist" if it has been used for an "uninterrupted [20-year] period, without force, secrecy or permission".

But inspector Kenneth Taylor found its use by the public from September 2002 until September 2022, when the gate was installed, was "very limited".

At the inquiry, Lady Conran, Sir Terence's widow, said she had seen one person using the path in 30 years living at Barton Court.

Anthony Stansfeld, a long-term Kintbury resident and the Thames Valley's former police and crime commissioner, said he regarded the path as part of a private drive.