Pippa Middleton and her hedge fund manager husband have been forced to dig up a car park they built without permission.
Angry neighbours in the village of Kintbury wrote to West Berkshire Council to protest they had not been consulted before construction started last year in the picturesque countryside.
Princess Catherine’s sister and her husband James Matthews own the land which is part of the £15.5million, 145-acre Barton Court estate where the couple have lived since 2022.
The meadow was well known among residents as the former home of two heavy horses – Monty and Drummer – who used to graze on the land before the change of owners.
It is also just one of many incidents where Ms Middleton, 43, and Mr Matthews, 51, have found themselves at loggerheads with their neighbours since they moved to the area.
The couple later applied for a retrospective planning permission to build the anglers’ car park claiming the sale of fishing rights along the River Kennet was a ‘significant income stream’ that supports the upkeep of the land.
However, in a victory for local residents, the council has ruled that the development was ‘visually intrusive and urbanised’ and ‘eroded a measure of the open and undeveloped rural character’ of the North Wessex Downs.
They have now been ordered to remove the car park.
Pippa Middleton’s car park (circled) is at the centre of a local planning row in Berkshire
Pippa Middleton and her husband James Matthews applied for retrospective planning permission after constructing the car park last year. They have now been ordered to dig up the car park
In council documents, seen by The Times, residents claimed they were ‘shocked’ by the development and they expressed concern that no one appeared to have been consulted before 400 square metres of agricultural hard standing was laid across the meadow.
Objectors have previously argued that the couple installed the car park to stop cars from spoiling views closer to their home.
One local wrote: ‘This application is to move unsightly parking out of sight of the applicants on entry to the Barton Court estate to the detriment of the residents and the heritage of Kintbury.’
They added: ‘Given the high-risk location, congestion, and heritage impact, I request that the Committee carry out a site inspection before making any decision.’
Planners argued that ‘no mitigation measures’ had been put in place to protect the river from ‘adverse impacts’.
The car park is just the latest occasion that Ms Middleton and Mr Matthews have found themselves in dispute with their neighbours.
They faced another battle with locals after barring dog walkers and ramblers from going through their grounds.
Grade I-listed Barton Court, which sits on the River Kennet near the village of Kintbury, was previously owned by the late retail tycoon Sir Terence Conran, who allowed locals to use Mill Lane, which winds through the estate.
Planning documents show the location of the car park (in red) near Ms Middleton’s home
But when the couple arrived in 2022 with their three children – Arthur, Grace and Rose – they wasted little time in closing off the lane with an electric gate.
Signs warning ‘Private: No Public Access’ and ‘No Trespassing’ appeared around the perimeter.
Thirty-five residents, backed by The Ramblers Association, applied to West Berkshire Council to have Mill Lane declared a public right of way.
A Planning Inspectorate inquiry began in the village hall in May, attended by Mr Matthews, who sought to claim security and privacy concerns should win out.
The Daily Mail has approached Ms Middleton and Mr Matthews for comment.
