Overview
- The case will go to a public hearing next month after James Matthews challenged a parish-backed claim that Mill Lane is a public right of way.
- Matthews installed electric gates and private signs after buying Barton Court in 2022, then filed a 2024 notice saying the lane is not public.
- West Berkshire Ramblers and residents say decades of open use establish a legal right and warn the closure forces walkers onto a narrow road with no pavement.
- Kintbury Parish Council reviewed testimony and supported recording the lane as a public path, a position the family is contesting through a barrister.
- Walking charity The Ramblers says the dispute reflects blocked paths across Britain that curb safe access to green space, especially for less affluent communities.