Ramblers disappointed by Kinfauns judgement

15/06/2007

The Ramblers' Association has registered its disappointment at a Sheriff's Court decision in favour of Ann Gloag, who, in erecting a fence without planning approval, cut off legal access for walkers near her Kinfauns Castle property.

The Ramblers' Scottish Committee has said it will study the judgement and, following legal advice, will decide whether to appeal the decision.

The judgement relates to Stagecoach founder Ann Gloag erecting an unsightly seven-foot high security fence around her home at Kinfauns Castle, near Perth, in advance of obtaining the necessary planning approval. The Ramblers' Association and Perth & Kinross Councl believed that statutory access rights, granted by the Land Reform Act, were severely affected. Ms Gloag applied to Parth Sheriff Court for a 'declarator' that access rights do not apply within the fence.

Following the decision in favour of Gloag, the Ramblers released the following statement:

"It does not appear to us that this judgement properly reflects the intentions of the Scottish Parliament when it passed the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. We are surprised that the Sheriff takes little account of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, suggesting that the section of the Code which deals with privacy issues in relation to large houses in the countryside is not of "direct help" in this case. Both Perth and Kinross Council and ourselves led evidence to indicate that we believed the wording of section 3.16 of the Code was of critical importance in reaching a decision at Kinfauns. On that basis we argued that access rights applied to an extensive area of woodland at Kinfauns and should not be regarded as necessary for ensuring the privacy of anyone living in Kinfauns Castle."

"We recognise that there are important privacy and security issues at Kinfauns but do not think these have been resolved through this court action. We regret that the dispute arose when Mrs Gloag erected a mile long security fence around her property, without first obtaining the necessary planning approval. There is a serious risk that this court judgement could encourage other landowners to take similar action to exclude public access from extensive tracts of ground. If this were to happen it could fundamentally undermine the intentions of the land reform legislation."

www.ramblers.org.uk/scotland/accessn/casestudies/kinfauns-judgement.html