Norfolk couple lose legal battle to keep garden 'private'

Ann Scott did not realise her property had a public right of way, until another villager raised the issue in a parish council meeting

A couple have lost a 10-year battle over whether or not a public right of way runs through their property.

Ann and John Scott, who have lived in Thompson in Norfolk for 25 years, did not know the route existed until 2013.

Losing the legal battle means the couple could have ramblers and dog walkers passing through their property on Pockthorpe Lane.

Norfolk County Council, which holds the rights of way records, agreed there should be access.

The row began a decade ago when an older villager claimed at a parish council meeting that a footpath had once crossed the couple's property.

The council said the path, which leads to nearby Sparrow Hill and the long-distance Peddars Way path, was a "byway open to all traffic (BOAT)".

The government's Planning Inspectorate, which adjudicates on planning disputes, started an inquiry which was delayed by the Covid pandemic.

The couple argued that that the council's case for the route was "flawed, void and must be rejected".

Norfolk County Council agreed that there should be access through the Scotts' garden

The inspector at the inquiry, Sue Arnott, said the path was included on some county council documents but not all, claiming it "does not inspire confidence" in their past administration.

She said: "My conclusion, both from the historical evidence I have examined and from the accounts from people who have known and used the path over many years, is that the order route had been established as a public right of way on foot long before 1998 [when the Scotts purchased the property]."

The status of the right of way was deemed to be a footpath rather than a BOAT, which means the couple have another chance to object.

The couple did not wish to comment further but had shared a notice in the local parish magazine saying they would be objecting to the decision.

"We remind them and the general public, that our driveway and garden currently still remains strictly private," they said.

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