Pippa Middleton and her husband James Matthews have emerged victorious in a three-year legal battle over whether a driveway running through their £15 million Berkshire estate should be recognised as a public right of way — leaving local walkers and their councillors bitterly disappointed.

A planning inspector ruled on Monday that Mill Lane, a private drive cutting through the couple's 145-acre Barton Court estate near Kintbury, had not been used by the public continuously or sufficiently enough over the legally required 20-year period to qualify as a public footpath. The decision overturns an earlier ruling by West Berkshire Council that had sided with the ramblers.

How the Row Began

James Matthews, a hedge fund manager, purchased Barton Court in August 2022 from designer Sir Terence Conran's estate for £15.5 million. Shortly after the family moved in, electric security gates were erected across the driveway in September 2022, and signs reading "Private: No Public Access" and "No Trespassing" appeared around the grounds.

Two photos: red brick Georgian manor with dog on lawn; man in navy suit and woman in yellow polka-dot dress, both in sunglasses outdoors.

More than 30 local residents, backed by The Ramblers, subsequently applied to have Mill Lane formally recognised as a public right of way, arguing it had served as a vital local thoroughfare — and a link to a 12th-century church — since the 1960s. West Berkshire Council granted that application in 2024, prompting Matthews to challenge it at a five-day public inquiry earlier this year.

The Inspector's Verdict

Planning inspector Ken Taylor concluded that public use of the route had been too limited and too ambiguous to establish legal dedication as a footpath. In his written decision, Taylor noted that a number of people had legitimate private access to the estate — including those working at a special educational needs school on the grounds and paid recreational fishermen — which made it harder for any landowner to distinguish genuine public use from permitted private access.

"The level of use was not sufficient to bring home to a reasonable non-absentee landowner that the public were asserting a continuous right to use the Order route as a public footpath," Taylor wrote.
Two people holding hands while walking together at night, woman in red outfit with black blazer, man in dark suit and light blue shirt.

Supporting the family's case, former owner Lady Victoria Conran told the inquiry she had encountered only one person using the driveway during her 30 years of living at the property. Matthews himself told the inquiry he had not been informed of any public footpath when he purchased the estate.

Security Concerns and Royal Connections

Matthews also made clear that the gates were not simply a matter of privacy, but of security — citing the family's high-profile connections to the Prince and Princess of Wales as a specific concern.

"There are implications for my family, due to their high public profile, which means there is a need for a higher level of security than would otherwise be the case," he told the inquiry, adding that gates at Station Road had been further upgraded in the summer of 2025.

The couple's three children — Arthur, born in 2018, Grace, born in 2021, and Rose, born in 2022 — also live at the estate.

Locals Cry Foul

Not everyone is convinced the right decision was reached. Councillor Tony Vickers, who attended almost the entire inquiry, was sharply critical of the outcome, suggesting that the family's status may have played an unspoken role in the verdict.

"I am surprised and very disappointed that the inspector came down on the landowner's side," he said. "Although evidence of use was not overwhelming, I feel that what tipped the balance, albeit unsaid in the decision notice, was the status of the series of owners of Barton Court."

Woman in white red floral midi dress, sunglasses, carrying straw hat, walking outdoors.

The Ramblers had submitted 35 user evidence forms and five witness statements in support of the application — a considerable body of evidence, though ultimately not enough to satisfy the inspector's legal threshold.

A spokesman for Pippa Middleton and James Matthews said simply: "We are grateful for the careful consideration given to the facts and appreciate the time invested by all parties."

For the walkers of Kintbury who had hoped to keep the lane open, it is a deflating end to a long and hard-fought campaign. For one of Britain's most prominent families, it is a significant — and no doubt very welcome — victory.