On the final day of a public inquiry, Paul Wilmshurst, for Matthews, said the ramblers group had “struggled to show the required use”.
Legally, a public footpath can be “deemed to exist” if it has been used for an “uninterrupted [20-year] period, without force, secrecy or permission”.
A path can also be designated if there is evidence that a landowner has allocated the land for that purpose and that it has been publicly used.
In a written submission, Matthews said public recognition “would cause very real practical/privacy difficulties and security issues” for him and his family.
Wilmshurst told the inquiry that Lady Conran, widow of designer Sir Terence Conran, said she saw one person using the path in 30 years while living at Barton Court.
Anthony Stansfeld, a long-term Kintbury resident and the Thames Valley’s former police and crime commissioner, said he regarded the path as part of a private drive.
