Woman who built 4ft anti-climb paint barricade outside home must take it down
A woman who erected a a 4ft high barricade smeared with grease to stop ramblers walking past her home has been told she must remove it.
Solicitor Sine Garvie-Mcinally used wooden stakes to block off a 150m stretch of footpath by her home near the Norfolk village of Newton by Castle Acre. Her makeshift fence has stopped walkers using part of the Nar Valley Way which runs 20m away from her cottage.
The former Norfolk County Council solicitor claims she put up the barrier because the route infringes her right to privacy. The row, which has been rumbling on for 30 years, since 1993, resulted in a public inquiry last year. Today a planning inspector ruled against her, after documents showed the path had existed since the 18th century.
Inspector Paul Freer said that the path must be free to use under the legal maxim: "Once a highway, always a highway." Speaking at the public hearing in November, Mrs Garvie-Mcinally said men have urinated outside her garden and she had suffered verbal abuse from walkers. She said: "I'm doing what I can to protect my home - this order would break my statutory right to privacy.
The barricade (Eastern Daily Press / SWNS)"People can see straight into my windows from the path. Men walking on the path have urinated outside my garden. I have suffered harassment and had rude comments and gestures made at me. If the decision goes the other way I will have to sell this house as I would not be able to live in quiet enjoyment."
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The two-day inquiry heard the disputed path forms part of the 33 miles of walking routes through Norfolk's woods and fields. The Norfolk Ramblers Association say the path was registered as a public right of way, a claim Mrs Garvie-Mcinally stated was wrong.
As a result of the row, the footpath has been blocked off with greasy anti-climb paint covering the wooden stakes. Warning signs have also been put up warning people that CCTV monitoring is in place. The dispute dates back to 1993 when Mrs Garvie-Mcinally moved into the village with her family.
The inspector at the fence (Eastern Daily Press / SWNS)The council ruled the walkway was a registered path but the row is over whether it was a public one. Walkers and riders continued to use the path as its status remained unconfirmed until 2000 when a local landowner put up signs preventing vehicles from using it. Nine years later, a group of horse riders objected to Norfolk County Council about the posts, complaining about access to the route.
Mrs Garvie-Mcinally then revived her objections to the path and assembled the barricade in August 2020.
Villagers celebrated the inspectors decision. One neighbour said: "It should never have gone this far. People have been using the path for ever," and the chairman of Norfolk Area Ramblers, Richard May, said he was "absolutely delighted".
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