Villagers are celebrating after defeating a Saudi prince in a three-year battle to save a historic footpath.
Part of the disputed public footpath running through the Fairlawn Estate in Shipbourne, Kent Photo: MIKE GUNNILL
6:30AM GMT 26 Nov 2011
Prince Khalid Abdullah provoked anger among the 700 residents of Shipbourne, Kent, after he closed a footpath, which dates to Roman times, that runs through his estate.
But the prince, who is the first cousin of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the brother-in-law of the late King Fahd, failed to count on local people mounting a campaign against him. They have now persuaded the Planning Inspectorate to overturn a decision by Kent county council to ban them from using the popular stretch of path.
Lynette Sargent, a Shipbourne parish councillor who campaigned for the path to be reopened, said: “We were fighting for what our ancestors would have been trying to keep.
“It was like the great big landowners against little village bumpkins: they think we don’t know what we’re doing when they get their big guns out.
“I’m very pleased about it. I was born in this village and my ancestors before me had connections to the village for 200 years. I love that particular walk; the diversion should never have been granted permission.”
In 2008, the prince, who owns a string of horses including the unbeaten champion three-year-old Frankel, banned walkers from the Greensland Way footpath, which runs through his Fairlawne Estate and behind the village’s St Giles Church, claiming that dog walkers were worrying his sheep, and that the path invaded his privacy and was a threat to the security of the estate.
He was backed by Kent county council, which formally imposed the restriction, and fences were put up blocking the path. But local people fought back, claiming they had not been consulted about the decision, and forced a public inquiry. After hearing their evidence, the Planning Inspectorate overturned the decision.
Miss Sargent added: “Fairlawne are good to the village – they do keep it very nice, but then they do things that do upset some of us, especially older people who have been in the village much longer than the tenant of that house.”
In the 17th century, the Fairlawne Estate was owned by Sir Henry Vane the Elder, secretary of state to Charles I, but it changed hands to the Cazalet family in the 19th century. Sir Peter Cazalet was the trainer of horses owned by the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who would stay at the estate on visits.
Viv Packer, who led the campaign, said: “The path has been there since Roman times and when the Cazalets owned the estate and trained horses for our royals, the Queen Mother used to stay and they never had problems with security. It would have been dreadful to lose it; it is such a lovely path. We are pleased and slightly surprised, because it comes down to the issue of public enjoyment.”
Nobody from the estate was available comment.
He was backed by Kent county council, which formally imposed the restriction, and fences were put up blocking the path. But local people fought back, claiming they had not been consulted about the decision, and forced a public inquiry. After hearing their evidence, the Planning Inspectorate overturned the decision.
Miss Sargent added: “Fairlawne are good to the village – they do keep it very nice, but then they do things that do upset some of us, especially older people who have been in the village much longer than the tenant of that house.”
In the 17th century, the Fairlawne Estate was owned by Sir Henry Vane the Elder, secretary of state to Charles I, but it changed hands to the Cazalet family in the 19th century. Sir Peter Cazalet was the trainer of horses owned by the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who would stay at the estate on visits.
Viv Packer, who led the campaign, said: “The path has been there since Roman times and when the Cazalets owned the estate and trained horses for our royals, the Queen Mother used to stay and they never had problems with security. It would have been dreadful to lose it; it is such a lovely path. We are pleased and slightly surprised, because it comes down to the issue of public enjoyment.”
Nobody from the estate was available comment.
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