The hedge fund manager husband of Pippa Middleton has said his family’s ‘high-public profile’ justifies banning ramblers from walking on a footpath on their £15million estate.

James Matthews and the sister of the Princess of Wales, who live in the Grade I-listed Barton Court in Berkshire with their three children, are battling with Britain’s walking charity over access to a footpath on their 145-acre sprawling property.

Residents in the picturesque village of Kintbury have accused them of being ‘arrogant’ and ‘alienating the community’ by seeking to cut off a path which some claim has been used for generations.

They say the path, Mill Lane, was always left open by the estate’s former owner - the late Habitat founder Sir Terence - on the understanding that it could be used as a public passageway,

But the royal-related couple, who bought the estate from Sir Terence in 2022, claim it has never been open to the public and cite security and privacy issues with keeping it open.

They installed electric gates and signs reading 'Private: No Public Access' and 'No Trespassing' at both ends of the path, when they moved in.

Thirty-five residents, backed by The Ramblers' Association, appealed to West Berkshire Council to have the lane declared a public right of way - but Ms Middleton and her husband have pushed back.

A six-day Planning Inspectorate hearing is being held in Kintbury after which the council will decide whether to declare the road private or public land.

In a witness statement, Mr Matthew said keeping the pathway open would have security ‘implications’ for the family.

The former racing driver, who has not been accompanied by his wife at the first three days of the hearing, wrote: ‘There are implications for my family, due to their high public profile, which means there is a need for a higher level of security than would otherwise be the case if the circumstances were different.

‘Therefore to improve security for my family, before we moved in, I arranged for an electric security gate to be erected on the Drive.

‘It is kept shut, except perhaps on the odd occasion such as when a visit by family or friends is expected. When the gate was put in, no one from the Parish Council or the village came to speak with us, or contacted us, about the gate to say that there was any problem with it being there.’

Many villagers say they have used the footpath for decades and it allows them to avoid walking through the dangerous Station Road, which has no pavement.

But others, including a former resident of the estate who flew in from Australia to support Mr Matthews, said walkers have only used the route extremely rarely.

Mr Matthews admitted his ‘first hand knowledge’ of the route is ‘limited’.

He said: ‘Unlike the many witnesses that I am calling to give evidence. I cannot for example give evidence about how it has been used over the decades past.

He added: ‘In the last three and a half years since I bought the house, I have seen only a handful of people, on maybe two or three occasions, walking along the Drive.

‘Each time I have spoken to them and told them it was not a public footpath. Each time they acknowledged that it was not a footpath, and asked for permission to continue. On each occasion I gave them permission to continue, but for just that once.’

The attempted closure of the route has ‘alienated’ the village, according to Tony Vickers, a local Liberal Democrat councillor.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘They’ve upset an awful lot of people.

‘I don’t understand their motive for closing the route. They could easily get more security outside the house rather than closing the path through the estate and alienating the village.

‘When rich and famous people move here they have the opportunity to get involved with the community, they don’t need to upset people.

But Max Gallagher, the son of Lady Victoria Conran, appeared at Kintbury Coronation Hall on Friday in support of the Matthews's claim.

Mr Gallagher, who used to live in Barton Court, said there has always been a sign that ‘stated private or words to that effect.

‘I have no recollection, throughout the time I was regularly at Barton Court, of seeing many people walking on the drive.

Mr Gallagher said he lived at Barton Court for a couple of months between 2022 and 2023.

‘I did not see the drive being used by walkers during this period,’ he added.

His involvement came a day after Lady Victoria, the wife of the late Sir Terence, waded into the row.

Lady Victoria, who lived in the estate from 1992 until 2022, told the inquiry on Thursday she only saw a single person, a woman with a pram, walking the route in her decades residing at the property and told her estate manager to warn her she was on private land.

Mr Matthews was also supported by another former resident of the estate, who flew in from Australia to give evidence.

Charles Hill, who grew up in Spinney House, a property on the estate, was urged to travel from Sydney to attend the in-person hearing by Mr Matthews and Ms Middleton.

He said it would be an ‘injustice’ if the drive was registered as a public footpath.

Mr Hill told the inquiry: ‘During the period when I lived at Spinney House, I do not remember the private drive being used frequently by members of the public walking along it.

He said on the ‘rare’ occasions his father saw people walking on it he would tell them the land was private and they should walk on a different path which had a public right of way.

But other residents claim they have frequently used the pathway for years, and one accused the couple of trying to force ramblers to walk through the ‘terrifying’ Station Road by blocking them out.

She said it has been a ‘huge relief’ being able to use the ‘essential’ Mill Lane and avoiding Station Road.

‘If there were explicit signs I would not have used it,’ she said.

Trevor Coles, who has lived in Kintbury since 1954, said as a teenager he and his friends used the path as a cycle route.

He said the route has been an ‘immensely valuable option for exercise, mental health and sheer joy of the countryside.

‘Historically there is absolutely no recall of any hindrance being put in the way of locals and ramblers.’

Mr Coles claimed past owners of Barton Court have ‘always respected the authenticity and value of this walk way’ and only since the Matthews’ moved in has the access been discussed.

A spokesperson for Ms Middleton and Mr Matthews disputed claims that Sir Terence allowed locals to use Mill Lane as a right of way.

'For as long as records exist, there has never been a footpath or public right of way on the land currently under discussion,' the spokesperson told the Mail.

'For decades past there has always been signage pointing out this is the driveway to a private property, with no public access. There are other clearly marked footpaths nearby.

'Contrary to media reports the previous owners at the property from as far back as the 1970s, did not allow public access to the land under discussion. It has always been private property.'