A wealthy couple have sparked a bitter village row in New Forest National Park over a ‘shameful’ planning bid to cut off a popular public footpath near their home.
Adrian and Allison Mincher have outraged dozens of their neighbours by trying to prevent pedestrian access to the path that runs right beside their £1.2 million home.
The 220-yard footpath runs from a peaceful cul-de-sac out to the countryside in the Hampshire national park and is used daily by locals and dog walkers.
Mr and Mrs Mincher have launched a planning application insisting their privacy is ‘severely intruded’ and claim there is an ‘ongoing problem’ with dog mess.
But angry neighbours say the reasons put forward by the Minchers are ‘bulls***’ and claim they want to ‘increase the value of the house’ before they sell it.
Adrian and Allison Mincher have outraged dozens of their neighbours by trying to prevent pedestrian access to the path that runs right beside their £1.2 million home (pictured)
The 220-yard footpath (red dotted line) runs from a peaceful cul-de-sac out to the countryside in the Hampshire national park and is used daily by locals and dog walkers. The route goes from Forest Glade Close end (bottom) to the North Weirs end (top)
Local Bob Coombs, 83, has lived nearby for 17 years and has said it would be ‘shameful’ to deny the community the footpath and ‘frankly a travesty’ to then allow vehicular access
The Minchers claim their family’s cars have been damaged by path users and wish to turn it into private land
A total of 183 people have objected to the planning bid and neighbours in the cul-de-sac have put up signs outside their homes saying ‘Say no to footpath closure’.
The route, in the New Forest village of Brockenhurst, is thought to have existed for at least 47 years and is used by up to 50 people per day.
Neighbours expressed their fears that closing it would mean it would take 15 minutes to walk to the other side.
Many people in the area are elderly, with one resident nearly 100 years old.
The Minchers moved into the property seven years ago and have applied to make variations to a deed on the land that was sanctioned in 2000.
They claim their family’s cars have been damaged by path users and wish to turn it into private land.
Brockenhurst Parish Council said the Minchers put forward ‘spurious justifications’, said it would ‘make a mockery of 40 years of planning decisions’, and dismissed the application.
Brockenhurst Parish Council said the Minchers are not meant to park their cars (pictured) where they have been doing so, and the damage they claim has been done to their cars ‘would be avoided if they did not obstruct the right of way’
Neighbours expressed their fears that closing it would mean it would take 15 minutes to walk to the other side. Pictured: The Forest Glade Close entrance to the footpath.
Mr and Mrs Mincher have launched a planning application insisting their privacy is ‘severely intruded’ and claim there is an ‘ongoing problem’ with dog mess
A total of 183 people have objected to the planning bid and neighbours in the cul-de-sac have put up signs outside their homes saying ‘Say no to footpath closure’
However, the New Forest National Park Authority are still yet to make a ruling on the Minchers’ application.
The Minchers’ planning application said: ‘Having a right of way access across the land which is extremely close to the property severely intrudes onto the applicant’s privacy and is a security and liability issue.
‘Those that do use the access use it as a place to exercise their dogs with a great deal not cleaning it up, they constantly leave dog mess outside the rear gate, outside the front door and where they have pedestrian access into the forest.’
The application also claimed the Minchers’ cars were damaged and that motorbikes have used it as a cut through.
Neighbours have hit back, casting doubt on the claims.
One neighbour who did not want to be named said: ‘By doing it they increase the value of the house, it’s as simple as that.’
Neighbour John Stanton, 53, also opposes the application.
Semi-retired business executive Mr Stanton said: ‘What frustrates me is if any of these issues were real concerns to them – come and talk. Dog fouling? Talk about it.
The Minchers moved into the property seven years ago and have applied to make variations to a deed on the land that was sanctioned in 2000
Brockenhurst Parish Council said the Minchers put forward ‘spurious justifications’, said it would ‘make a mockery of 40 years of planning decisions’, and dismissed the application
‘Any of these issues we could have neighbourly discussions, help solve it.
‘If those issues were real issues, they would impact us as much as them.
‘Their hostile planning application and exaggerated claims are what has upset the neighbours.’
Another neighbour said the Minchers’ justifications are ‘bulls***’.
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Bob Coombs, 83, has lived nearby for 17 years. He said the footpath has been there for 40 years or longer and was one of the reasons he and his wife bought their adjacent house.
Mr Coombs, a retired quantity surveyor, said: ‘It would be shameful to deny the community of this facility and frankly in my opinion a travesty to then allow vehicular access.’
The Minchers have claimed that the path was only used ‘occasionally’ by dog walkers and local cyclists accessing the Forest when they first moved.
But Mr Coombs said: ‘It’s used a lot. It’s a great asset to the area, a lot of people use it daily and possibly twice daily.’
Local Mike Page said that he’s ‘never ever thought’ there were security issues in the area.
Pictured: A drone picture of the North Weirs entrance to the footpath
‘If every path that went past the house was closed on security, there would be no paths,’ he said.
Mr Page, a 53 year old photographer, said the Minchers put in a front door which faces onto the path in about 2019, as well as windows in the garage which overlook it.
In their statement, Brockenhurst Parish Council said that alongside the removal of tall hedging at the front of the property, pointing out that the homeowners themselves have made the property less private.
Of the claim that motorcycles use the path, the council said: ‘The residents are not aware of this happening ever in over 40 years. If it was an issue, it can be immediately resolved by the owners fulfilling their duty and maintaining a gate allowing only pedestrian access.’
They also noted that the Minchers are not meant to park their cars where they have been doing so, and the damage they claim has been done to their cars ‘would be avoided if they did not obstruct the right of way and instead parked in the designated area to the rear of the property’.
The Minchers have been contacted for comment.
