15-05-2025
Pensioner couple tens of thousands out of pocket after losing years-long fight to ban public from narrow path through garden of Norfolk village home
A retired couple's expensive 12-year legal battle to stop ramblers and dog walkers roaming through their garden on a disputed public footpath has failed after they lost a second Planning Inspectorate hearing.
Ann and John Scott moved into their home on a half-acre plot in the picturesque Norfolk village of Thompson 25 years ago.
But in 2013 an elderly local claimed there was a historical right of access across the site, plunging them into the legal nightmare that had consumed their time ever since.
The matter eventually went to a Planning Inquiry in 2022, where Norfolk County Council dropped a claim that vehicles could also drive along the route.
But the inspector still ruled a 'public right of way on foot' had been established before the Scotts arrived.
Mrs Scott, 77, and her husband, 79, used a second hearing in front of a different planning inspector to challenge the ruling but have now been told 'nothing has been provided to cast doubt' on the previous decision.
They could still take their case to the High Court but their legal bill – which is already around £40,000 – would soar even higher, with no guarantee of success.
Mrs Scott said: 'I'm a retired teacher and grandmother having to fight against the county council and dozens of villagers. It is a complete inequality of arms.'
The former teachers spent 50 years in different properties in the tiny 150-dwelling village - which was mentioned in the Domesday Book and has a 14th century church - before moving to their current site in 1998.
They were aware that the previous owner of the 300-year-old cottage had turned a blind eye to ramblers and others occasionally crossing the land.
But they were reassured by a solicitor that it was not designated as a footpath on Norfolk's definitive map.
The Scotts – who rented out the cottage after moving into a new build property on the land in 2021 which they built themselves - believe the council was relying on documents dating back to 1929, which described a 'soft road' across their land.
This possibly dates to the 19th century when villagers used to trudge across the area on their way to a brickworks, which closed in 1911.
'There was a road marked on the definitive draft map drawn up in the 1950s but it was not there when it was finalised in 1961,' Mrs Scott said previously.
'Some people think we are depriving them of their rights but they don't understand the situation.'
The first Planning Inquiry was delayed by the pandemic but finally began in February 2022, before being adjourned until November.
At the hearing, church organist Mrs Scott and her husband argued the council's case was 'flawed, void and must be rejected'.
Also objecting was a nearby landowner, Leoware Ltd, which also sits on the disputed track.
The council dropped its claim to a 'byway open to all traffic' but insisted the footpath was a long-term feature.
Inspector Sue Arnott agreed with the council, despite accepting the path was not shown on all of its documents which created a 'muddle' that 'does not inspire confidence in NCC's past administration'.
She said: 'My conclusion, both from the historical evidence I have examined and from the accounts of people who have known and used the path over many years, is that the order route had been established as a right of way on foot long before 1998.
'Given the absence of challenge to users of the way until the end of that century, I am satisfied that dedication as a public path can be presumed such as to warrant addition to the definitive record.'
The second public inquiry, held earlier this year, heard from several villagers who spoke of their memories using the route. Norfolk Ramblers also demanded public access should be maintained.
Peter Rudling, who grew up in the area, said: 'I think the footpath should be there for future generations.'
The Scotts continued to argue that the designation as a footpath had been removed from official records long ago but planning inspector Mark Yates ruled against them.
The couple had also filed a claim for nearly £40,000 in compensation from Norfolk County Council, arguing its conduct had been unreasonable and forced them to commission expensive lawyers and research work.
But the council has rejected the claim, saying it had acted appropriately throughout and the second inquiry took place at the Scotts' insistence and amounted to an 'abuse of process'.
Mr Scott said in a previous submission: 'We've fought every step of the way because we believe this is wrong.
'This is our home. People wouldn't tolerate this in a city. Why should we in the countryside?'
The route goes through nearby undeveloped fields and links with Peddars Way, a 46-mile footpath through Norfolk and Suffolk.
Mrs Scott has devoted hundreds of hours digging out documents about the case – and unearthed other examples to illustrate the 'absurdity' of the rules.
She made headlines in 2020 with claims there was a footpath across land owned by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson's father Stanley in Exmoor, Somerset.
Norfolk County Council was contacted for a comment.
