Kate Middleton's younger sister Pippa Middleton and her husband James Matthews have celebrated big news. The couple have won their battle to stop the public from walking through their Berkshire country estate, a win to protect their family's privacy. A planning inspector, appointed by government, ruled on Monday that walkers had failed to demonstrate sufficient evidence of continuous use of a driveway through the couple's Barton Court property over the legally required 20-year period. The couple were under stress due to the campaign. Now the ruling gives them a sigh of relief.
The authority has overturned a previous designation of the route as a public right of way. The estate, which Matthews purchased for £15.5 million in 2022, locates just 12 miles from the Berkshire childhood home of Pippa, 43, and her elder sister, the Princess of Wales. Villagers of Kintbury reportedly had long maintained the path through the estate served generations of local walkers, providing a vital connection to a public footpath linking outlying areas with its 12th-century church.
Backed by the Ramblers' Association, more than 30 walkers petitioned West Berkshire District Council to formally recognise the driveway as a public right of way - which was granted in 2024. Matthews, a hedge fund manager, contested the decision, arguing that the route had not been used freely by the public for the two decades demanded by law. The 51-year-old told the public inquiry, held in May, that nothing in the conveyancing process when he purchased the property had indicated any public entitlement to use the drive.
Lady Victoria Conran, the widow of Sir Terence Conran who sold the 32-room Georgian mansion and its 145-acre grounds to the couple following her husband's death, offered a statement firmly in their support. Meanwhile, local councillor Tony Vickers expressed dismay at the outcome, saying: "I am surprised and very disappointed that the inspector came down on the landowner's side." On the other hand, Pippa and James' spokeswoman responded as saying: "We are grateful for the careful consideration given to the facts and appreciate the time invested by all parties."