James Matthews, husband of Pippa Middleton and brother-in-law to the Princess of Wales told a planning inquiry on Thursday that his home in West Berkshire needs a higher level of security in a row over whether part of the £15.5 million estate’s driveway should be recognised as a public footpath.
Speaking at the inquiry at Kintbury Coronation Hall in Hungerford on Thursday, Mr Matthews said there was nothing in the conveyancing process which alerted him to any public use of the drive when he bought the property in 2022.
Mr Matthews said: “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. This is the gate at Point X. It was installed in September 2022. 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.
“In the period after the footpath application, unfortunately, there has been a continued need to enhance security, and the gates at Station Road have therefore been upgraded in the summer of 2025 and kept closed.”
He added that within the last three-and-a-half years he has seen “only a handful of people, on maybe two or three occasions, walking along the drive”.
Mr Matthews told the inquiry he had spoken to those on the drive and told them it was not a public footpath and they had agreed with him.
