Pippa Middleton, Husband Ordered to Remove Unauthorized Car Park
Neighbors protested the construction, leading local authorities to demand the removal of the development.
Pippa Middleton and her hedge fund manager husband, James Matthews, have been ordered by West Berkshire Council to remove a car park constructed without planning permission on their £15.5 million estate.
Angry neighbors in the village of Kintbury raised concerns that they were not consulted before the construction of the car park began last year on a meadow known for formerly being the home of two heavy horses. The couple purchased the land as part of their 145-acre Barton Court estate in 2022.
Middleton and Matthews later applied for retrospective planning permission, arguing that the sale of fishing rights along the River Kennet served as a significant income stream supporting the upkeep of the land. However, the council ruled that the development was "visually intrusive and urbanised" and "eroded a measure of the open and undeveloped rural character" of the North Wessex Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
According to planning documents, residents expressed shock at the development, noting that no consultation appeared to have taken place before approximately 400 square meters of agricultural hard standing was laid. Objectors suggested the car park was intended to move unsightly parking away from the couple's immediate vicinity.
One resident wrote that the application was an attempt to move "unsightly parking out of sight of the applicants on entry to the Barton Court estate to the detriment of the residents and the heritage of Kintbury." Planners also noted that no mitigation measures had been put in place to protect the nearby river from adverse impacts.
This car park dispute is not the first time Middleton and Matthews have faced local opposition since moving to the area. The couple previously drew criticism and faced a challenge from locals after installing an electric gate and signage restricting access to Mill Lane, a path that winds through their estate. The lane had previously been accessible to locals when the property was owned by Sir Terence Conran.
In response to the access restrictions, 35 residents, supported by The Ramblers Association, applied to have Mill Lane declared a public right of way. A Planning Inspectorate inquiry into the matter began in May, with Mr. Matthews presenting arguments citing security and privacy concerns.
