Wealthy developer wins seven year planning row over public footpath

Henry Pelly, 45, of Luccombe Mill at Bratton, says “commonsense has finally prevailed” after a planning inspector ordered the footpath to be diverted.

Mr Pelly, whose cousin Guy Pelly is a close friend of Prince Harry, has fought a seven-year battle with locals who used the path through his 25-acre estate.

The entrance to the old footpath now blocked off. Photo: Henry Pelly (Image: Henry Pelly)

Known locally as the Watercress Walk, the footpath runs through from the Imber Road to woodland and by a stream east of Luccombe Mill in the parishes of Bratton and Edington.

The footpath ran through part of Mr Pelly’s garden but will now be diverted to a new route through a paddock to the south.

The entrance to the new route across a paddock at Luccombe Mill classed as private land. Photo: Henry Pelly (Image: Henry Pelly)

Mr Pelly said: “After a seven-year battle, the planning inspectorate finally approved the order to move the footpath away from the garden, into the adjoining paddock.

“The new route received a lot of support from local residents during the consultation process. We are extremely happy with the decision, which we believe is a fair compromise for all.”

Only two people objected at the public inquiry last October, including Phil Workman of the Open Spaces Society, which assists communities, groups and individuals to protect their open spaces and paths.

In 2016, Mr Pelly enraged locals by blocking off the footpath with barbed wire to stop them from going through the garden next to his home.

They then fought a two-year ‘David v Goliath’ battle to get it reopened, finally winning their case in November 2018 when Mr Pelly was ordered to reopen the path.

Local ramblers celebrate the Watercress Walk footpath reopening in 2019. Photo: Wiltshire Times (Image: Henry Pelly)

Mr Pelly was criticised by local ramblers who claimed they had been able to walk through the grounds for a century.

Outraged villagers had said the footpath should be recognised as a public right of way in accordance with the law.

But Mr Perry said he was 'determined to fight' the campaign and referred the issue to his solicitors.

Following protests from more than 80 users, Wiltshire Council then made a legal order recognising it as a footpath.

It said the Watercress Walk had been a footpath for at least 20 years and built a new bridge and cleared the entire footpath of mud so locals could use it safely.

The new decision relates to the northern section of the footpath, which is accessed over a stile, and runs parallel to the mill pond with its bankside descending to the pond.

The order seeks to divert the footpath to the southern side of the fence that currently separates the existing route from the proposed route.

This would direct footpath users away from the trees and the pond, across an open field with kissing gates at either end.

Mr Pelly had argued that users frequently strayed from the footpath towards the mill pond and sometimes their dogs entered the water.

The footpath on the new route across the paddock. Photo: Henry Pelly (Image: Henry Pelly)

The planning inspector Graham Wyatt made the order decision on January 22 following an inquiry and site visit on October 31 last year.

He said: “I have found that the diversion is expedient in the interest of the landowner and the public and that the new termination points to be as substantially as convenient to the public.

“It is not inconceivable that some users will be drawn to the pond where they will be able to view the garden and any activities that may be taking place.

“Moreover, this would be made worse during the seasons where the trees along the footpath are without leaves. This is clearly a matter of privacy and one that I find in favour of the order.”