The Ramblers' Association accepts the decision made by the Planning Inspectorate on access land on Madonna and Guy Ritchie's Wiltshire estate. The national walking charity is delighted that half of the land contested at the public inquiry has been classed as open country and that walkers will have access to 54 hectares of beautiful downland. Mr and Mrs Ritchie used their legal right to appeal the Countryside Agency's decision to map certain parcels of land on the grounds that it had been incorrectly classified.
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 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.
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."
The claims that Madonna and Guy Ritchie 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 that appeared on the proposed new access land.
