Casebook: Householder development - Bridleway route retained for convenience

Planning, 18 July 2008

The scheme involved altering an existing wall to create a new gateway through which the bridleway would be diverted. The appellant's house was reached via an unclassified public highway which terminated at an existing gateway near the property and then continued as a bridleway. The appellant claimed that the existing route separated his house and front garden and often led riders to peer into the ground-floor windows. Although the proposed route would be 40m longer it would be safer and just as convenient, he asserted.

The inspector decided that the land referred to by the appellant as his front garden was used for grazing of alpacas and so did not form part of the curtilage. The fact that users of the bridleway could obtain views into the house was not unusual in rural areas and the appellant must have been aware of its existence when purchasing the property, he inferred. He felt that the alternative route would be less convenient and attractive.

DCS Number 100-056-133

Inspector Richard Merelie; Hearing.