Ramblers' Association statement regarding the public inquiry concerning access land on Ashcombe House Estate (Wednesday 5 - Friday 7 May) [30 April 2004]
2004 sees the introduction of a legal freedom to walk on open country -
mountain, moor, heath, down and common land - in three areas of England
(followed next year by the remaining five areas in England and the whole of
Wales). This is the culmination of over 100 years of campaigning to gain legal
public access to some of our wildest and most beautiful countryside. The
Ramblers' Association has been at the forefront of this campaign because we
believe that responsible access to open country will be of benefit to the
nation.
The legislation specifically excepts cultivated land or land that is close to
dwellings, it will not interfere with land management or privacy of individuals.
This is underlined by the fact that a system of closures will operate to ensure
land can be managed efficiently.
Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act the whole of England and Wales are
being mapped in three stages to identify all areas of open country: a draft map
(which allows landowners and all members of the public to comment on it), a
provisional map (re-worked from the consultation on the draft map), and a
conclusive map (again re-worked from the provisional map after appeals by
landowners against the showing of their land on the map have been determined by
the planning inspectorate).
The public inquiry that starts on May 5th into Madonna and Guy Ritchie's
Ashcombe House Estate is just one of many appeals that have already happened and
which continue to happen around the country. The inquiry will turn on land and
grass types to determine whether the 17 parcels of land appearing on the
provisional map for the estate have been correctly defined as down land.
It is clear from an interview with Q magazine last year that Madonna has no
problem with the public legally walking on the estate, saying, "I didn't have a
go at the Ramblers, to tell you the truth when we bought Ashcombe we did think:
'Oh, there's a path, people are going to be bothering us all the time'. But no
one did. I haven't got anything bad to say about the ramblers."
Like other landowners around the country, Madonna and Guy Ritchie are using
their legal right to appeal the Countryside Agency's decision to map certain
parcels of land on the grounds that it has been incorrectly classified. The
claims that they are trying to have a footpath closed or have written to the
Prime Minister on the subject are wildly inaccurate. There are a number of
footpaths on the estate, one of which runs closer to the house than any of the
proposed new access land.