Langness. Photo: Grant Matthews CC-BY-ND-2.0
Petrolhead television presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been told he must allow walkers across land at his holiday home on the Isle of Man.
An inspector ruled that footpaths crossing the Langness peninsula are public rights of way and Clarkson and his wife Frances Cain must allow walkers to use the paths, despite their protestations that they suffered a loss of privacy as passers-by peered into his kitchen and took pictures.
The Top Gear presenter has 28 days to object to the ruling. If no objections are received, the matter will be put to the island’s High Court for resolution.
The protracted wrangling over the footpaths has been going on since October 2005 when Clarkson closed a section of footpath on the seaward side of the perimeter wall of the lighthouse they use as a holiday home.
A protest group, Public Rights of Way, Langness (Prowl) was formed and a sometimes bitter dispute ensued.
Now, David Anderson MHK, acting transport minister at the time the inquiry began, has agreed with inspector Roy Hickey’s findings that all but five short stretches of footpath on the peninsula are public rights of way.
He said: “The inspector considered that the strong and persuasive evidence put forward by members of the public of their use of the paths on Langness ‘as of right’ was sufficient to give rise to the preliminary conclusion that all but five of the claimed paths can be regarded as having been dedicated as public rights of way.
“The inspector rejected many of the actions and other factors put forward by the landowners as being, in his view, insufficient to counter the owners’ presumed intention to dedicate the affected paths as public rights of way, nor did they otherwise bring the public’s use of the paths ‘as of right’ into question.”
R N
11 May 2010not fair
Dave
12 May 2010Having spent a lot of my youth running around Langness this sounds like a good result to me.
How stupid/arrogant is JC to buy somewhwere with ROW that threaten is "privacy" and then seek to challenge them.........the maxim "Buyer beware" should have been his warning.
bob
23 May 2010All he has to do is use the human rights act which overrides our laws.
Article 8-the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence
The Nature of the Article 8 Rights
Article 8 offers general protection for a person’s private and family life, home and correspondence from arbitrary interference by the State.
Jake
04 August 2010At any chance people get they have a go at him, you guys are idiots, if I buy a house, I would not want people at my window taking pictures of me. He won't be able to step into his kitchen without seeing some pathetic papperazi at his window like a smug pedo taking pictures of him when he is trying to relax from WORK!!
M. Camp;
14 August 2010Sorry we have been fighting a Definitive Map Modification Order for four years. The footpath runs over the roof of our house (our house being built under a redundant railway bridge - the bridge being the roof of our housed). Human Rights don't come into this equation at all. The people who claim the right of way have more Human Rights than the owners of the property. Its a joke and whats more the general population using the route over our house are so selfish they don't consider our right to peaceful existence!