Pitshill House, Tillington, West Sussex

When ETL Director,Michael Wood, was first asked to consider the possible diversion of the footpath and bridleway at Pitshill, there had already been a failed attempt to persuade the West Sussex County Council to make the orders to achieve this.

The Landowner, The Hon. Charles Pearson had purchased the Grade II* house and its grounds as a family home but the property required restoration and the presence of the rights of way presented a public and private safety and a privacy and security issue. He had therefore been advised to seek the diversion of these paths, to move them a short distance from the house. The diverted paths retained views of the historic property in its parkland setting and the Sussex Weald.

Michael's brief was that there was no leeway in the choice of routes as these had beeen settled in agreement with the Parish Council and represented the limit of what would be acceptable to the landowner. Michael was asked for his views and approach to resolving the problem and to present these to the client. When meeting the client for the first time, he learned that he was in a beaty parade with other specialists in the field.

The advice from others was generally negative but Michael identified that if some public benefit could be achieved by the diversions, there was a possibility of gaining additional support for the proposals and particularly from the Chichester District Council who had power to make an order as the County Council had not done so.
 
It was important to demonstrate that these diversions were not just in the interests of the landowner but would benefit the public as well.

He recommended that Mary-Ann Nossent, then working as an independent disability access consultant, should audit the site and consider if the proposed routes could be improved for use by disabled people.

Mary-Ann reported that the existing rights of way were not accessible to many disabled people but that with some specific modifications to the proposed routes, and an improvement in the network at Pitshill, the new routes could be made accessible. In the context of the proposals the works identified were not major but represented adding value to the scheme for the public.

The work included providing a small car parking area and a viewing point for the house. Surface improvments and some easing of gradients would ensure that the new routes would be accessible.

The landowner embraced the changes and set about creating the routes on the ground, views of the house and the landscape were opened up from the new routes and a new circular walk through an area of woodland was created. Local disabled groups became fully involved and provided their complete support for the project.

Despite continued objection from the County Council, the Ramblers and Open Spaces Society, the District Council voted unanimously to make the required orders. The objections, however meant that a public inquiry was required.

The first inquiry went well but the decision of the Inspector was not to confirm on the basis of his interpretation of the legislation at that time. Undaunted, a judicial review of the decision was launched. DEFRA conceded without a hearing and issued new guidance with a revised interpretation of the law, enabling the matter to go to a second inquiry.

The inquiry reconvened in June 2009.

With the benefit of further witnesses and evidence of what the public prefered, the Inspector confirmed the order and the restoration can now commence.

This was a long hard battle and relied upon fresh thinking, identifying a new strategy when conventional apporoaches had failed,and having a team approach, the members from the legal , technical and public relations side pulling together their respective expertise in many areas to achieve the result that the client desired.

ETL were delighted to have been at the heart of the team and to have achieved a result that many believed was simply not possible.