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As the sister of the future queen of England, it makes sense that Pippa Middleton would want to make sure she has plenty of privacy at home — especially after the way that Kate Middleton has been in the news this year. But now, her neighbors are fighting back after she and husband James Matthews blocked their access to a footpath on their property that locals were once able to use.
A previous owner allowed the locals to use the path.
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According to a report from the Daily Mail, the former owner, Sir Terence Conran, kept the footpath, which leads to the home Pippa and James’ family now lives in, open for the public to use.
However, the path itself isn’t public, so it makes sense that after Pippa and James moved into the home in 2022, they’d prefer to close it off to keep people away from the mansion.
The entrance to the path has now been closed off.
The entrance to the path in West Berkshire is blocked with a gate and multiple “no trespassing” signs, along with a sign that warns of no public access.
People are already speaking out against the decision, including one local who told the outlet, “I like to walk, and I don’t see why I can’t walk there. I have been walking along there for 50 years. When Sir Terence had it, he had no objections. I think we should have a right to roam.”
They began the process of blocking off the path in March.
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Daily Mail reported that James Matthews’ estate manager sent out a Highway Declaration Notice to West Berkshire Council to establish that the land there was private.
Before this latest round of outrage even began, Eugene Fulcher, the chairman of a local walking group, filed to establish the path as a public walking space, but a decision will not be announced until next year.
This isn’t the first time the changes they’ve made to the home have raised eyebrows.
As Hello! magazine reported, James and Pippa dug up the garden on the home’s property to install a pool, which required tearing down an ancient wall. Aside from taking away from the home’s own history and character, at the time, locals were concerned that the digging required for the project could cause damage to other landmarks nearby.
It’s hard to blame James and Pippa for wanting more privacy.
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It’s understandable that locals are upset about losing access to a trail they say has been open to them for more than 50 years, but it’s also understandable that Pippa and James want to keep strangers out.
While being in the public eye, the couple also has three young children — Arthur, 5, Grace, 3, and Rose, 1 — so there are multiple reasons why having a path that leads directly to their home open to the public could be a safety issue. Hopefully, this can come to a resolution that everyone is happy with.
