A PICTURESQUE village is locked in a bitter row over a public footpath that cuts through an abandoned pub car park.
The “eyesore” pub has stood empty for the last eight years.
The footpath at the centre of the dispute crosses in front of an abandoned pub[/caption]
Located in Matfield, Kent, the dispute over the path will go to appeal[/caption]
The Wheelwrights Arms shut in 2017[/caption]
A dispute over declaring a route near a free house in Kent an official footpath will now go to appeal.
The path runs in front of a former pub, near Tunbridge Wells.
Part of the path being claimed involves locals walking across the front car park of what was once the Wheelwrights Arms, Matfield.
This comes after an application was made by the parish council to Kent County Council last July, KentLive reports.
It regarded the route used by people on foot, from Matfield Village Green, through the pub’s car park, and to a footway alongside the Maidstone Road.
Following a thorough investigation, by the county council in February this year, the authority said it has rejected the request.
Brenchley and Matfield Parish Council appealed the decision, meaning the Planning Inspectorate will now rule.
The once picturesque local pub at the centre of this dispute ceased trading in 2017.
The closure marked the end of the Wheelwright Arms’ rich 250 year history.
In 2020 it was given on appeal to convert the free house into three self-contained cottages.
In its ground of appeal, the Parish Council said: “Brenchley and Matfield Parish Council submitted this application for a public footpath to be added to the Definitive Map and Statement on the basis that prior to the date of challenge the route was either a public vehicular highway, in which case it would include public rights on foot, or, if it was not a public vehicular highway, that public footpath rights had been acquired on the basis of 20 years’ ‘as of right’ use on foot.”
The new owner of the former pub bought the property in February 2024, after describing it as having become “a bit of an eyesore.”
According to KentLive, the owner said that they fact the county council took seven months to reject the application “implied it had done a very thorough job in sifting through all the evidence.”
They went on to say that the parish council’s claims that it was a public right of way bore “no weight.”
They based this statement on the several decades referred to in user evidence which suggests that the route was a public highway, meaning it was used “by right” rather than “as of right” in the past.
The owner continued to argue that once the public highway was reinstated as land belonging to the pub, no former landlord would challenge traffic passing through, as it ultimately drew in more customers.
Within their response to the forthcoming appeal they also pointed out an alternative route that would see pedestrians cross the road to an existing pavement.
They added: “It already exists and also solves the problem.
“It is hardly a major detour for those people wishing to tread this route.”
A Brenchley and Matfield Parish Council spokesperson told The Sun: “The Parish Council has worked to maintain safe access between the Village Hall and the common land of the Green, including conducting a residents’ survey, reviewing historical documents, and engaging with the developer.
“If the route closes, residents would need to cross what is a very busy road twice.
“The Council has properly used available processes to protect this access for the benefit of the community.”
Not date has been given for the decision as of yet.
The Sun has reached out to Kent County Council for further comment.
Right of way on public footpaths
It is a criminal offence, under section 137 of the Highways Act 1980, to obstruct the whole or part of the width of a public path.
An obstructed path is one where something is lying (or has been placed) across the path which physically prevents you from using that part of the path.
Obstructions may include barbed wire on the top rail of a stile; or rubbish dumped on, or a garden boundary extended over, a right of way.
Problems affecting rights of way need to be reported to the highway authority, this would be the county council in England and Wales and the London Borough Council in the capital.
Highway Authorities have duties and powers to keep highways maintained, open and available for use.
The actions that an authority can take include service of a notice on the person causing the offence; telling him or her what action the authority intends taking with powers to recover their costs; and, where necessary, taking the potential offender to the Magistrates’ Court for an order to remove the issue.