Rich property developer riles village by closing foothpath through grounds of his new £1.25million country pile
Henry Pelly, 38 - cousin of Wills and Harry's best friend Guy - closed off the path after buying the £1.25million home in Wiltshire
A RICH property developer has angered neighbours by banning them from using a footpath running through the gardens of his picturesque country home.
Henry Pelly, 38 - cousin of Wills and Harry's best friend Guy Pelly - closed off the path after buying the £1.25million home he will share with partner Will Jenkins.
Henry, whose primary home is in Kensington, bought the six bedroom former mill in Bratton, Wilts, in August.
The couple are due to move into the plush property next spring but have upset neighbours by blocking both entrances to the path through the 17 acre estate with barbed wire.
Outraged villagers say they have been using the footpath, known as the Watercress Walk, since the 1930s and have now applied to Wiltshire Council for it to be reinstated.
They insist the path has been used for over 20 years and should be recognised as a public right of way in accordance with the law.
But Henry, who went to posh Harrow School, and long-term partner Will are "determined to fight" the campaign and has referred the matter to their solicitors.
Henry, who works in London, claims he has been the victim of a "witch hunt" and that Will cannot sleep because of the dispute.
He said: "The path goes right through our garden. It simply isn't a right of way - it's our private property.
"I'm sure that the people who are campaigning for it to be reopened wouldn't like a public footpath to run through their own gardens.
"I am determined to fight this as otherwise there is simply no privacy. I would have to put up large fences if the footpath was reopened which would cost a fortune.
"The campaigners live in the countryside so there are nice walks everywhere. I don't know why they're so set on having this one reopened." Henry added that the people running the campaign have not tried to talk to him about it and said their behaviour left him "lost for words".
He said: “We're English not American so I'm not expecting people to be coming round with baked pies.
"But if someone wanted to put a public right of way through my garden I would expect them to at least try and talk to me about it.
"It's just shocking. It's turning into a witch hunt. I've had to refer it to a specialist solicitor who deals with these matters." The campaigners are standing firm and say the law states that if a path has been publicly used for 20 years it becomes an established right of way.
Katherine Beaumont, 70, collected statements about the path from villagers to submit to the council.
She said: "It's a special, magical walk that means a lot to a lot of people.
"He says it's through his garden but there's a lake and a woodland path between his house and where we are walking. It's not like we're going over his front lawn.
"He may say we're being unfriendly but it's equally unfriendly for him to come along and put up barbed wire and signs saying 'Private Property Keep Out'.
"I don't think he's understood the importance of the path and the fact that people have used it for over 60 years.
"It's a regular walk for many people. The ramblers go there, the youth club go there, so do schools and girl guide groups." Campaigners have presented more than 70 witness statements to the council in their bid to walk the Watercress Walk again.
Phil Workman, 65, who submitted the application to Wiltshire Council, said: "It's a lovely path and about 100 people use it regularly.
"The homeowner says walkers need to get permission from him. But I've been walking there for over 30 years and never needed permission from previous owners.
"We got no prior warning that it would be shut. The landowner didn't go to the parish council or consult with any walkers before shutting it." "The styles at each end of the footpath were taken down and barbed wire put up and no one has been able to walk on it since then." Wiltshire Council say they have received the application and a public consultation is ongoing.
The house is called Luccombe Mill and is a stunning Regency-style house which stands alongside a former mill pond and was formerly owned by Sir Horace Seymour, an ex-British ambassador to China.