Pippa Middleton caught up in fresh row with neighbours over 'unsightly' car park near £15m estate


The Princess of Wales' younger sister built a car park on the grounds of her Berkshire home without planning permission last year


Pippa Matthews in the royal box on day eight of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships © PA Images via Getty Images
Eleanor Dye
Eleanor DyeOnline Royal Correspondent
Updated: 35 minutes ago
Share this:

Pippa Middleton has been asked to dig up an "unsightly" car park on her estate after a disagreement with neighbours. 

The Princess of Wales's younger sister, 42, built the facility on the grounds of her Berkshire home without planning permission last year. 

Pippa and her husband, James Matthews, submitted a retrospective application. However, West Berkshire Council rejected her appeal, saying it didn't fit with the "beauty, landscape, character, or rural setting" of the area, which is located on the Wessex Downs, one of the UK's National Landscapes. 

The couple claim it has never been a public access way© Getty Images
Pippa and James had their appeal rejected

Pippa and her husband James bought Barton Court, their £15 million estate in Berkshire, in 2022, where they are raising their three children: Arthur, seven, Grace, five, and Rose, four. 

Why has Pippa been told to remove her car park?

Planners called the car park a "visually intrusive and urbanised feature" and expressed concerns it could interfere with the nearby River Kennet chalk stream. 

They said: "Due to its size and engineered appearance, the development has introduced a visually intrusive and urbanised feature into an otherwise open meadow."

Pippa's appeal to overturn the ruling was dismissed in July, according to The Telegraph

Barton Court in Kintbury, Berkshire© Alamy Stock Photo
Pippa and James live at Barton Court

Her application said that the car park would only be used "seasonally" from Monday to Thursday. 

Pippa was last seen in public in July, when she joined her mother, Carole, for a day out at Wimbledon. HELLO! has reached out to representatives for the couple for comment. 

Pippa and James Matthews' footpath row

It comes after Pippa and James faced another dispute with locals about a public footpath across their land. 

The estate was previously owned by the late Sir Terence Conron, who reportedly allowed locals to use Mill Lane, which runs through the estate.

footpath along canal© Alamy Stock Photo
Kintbury has many footpaths

After neighbours and local ramblers requested access, the Matthews denied that a public footpath had ever existed there.

A spokesperson told The Telegraph that the area in question has always been private property for as long as records exist. 

The couple previously installed "private" and "no trespassing" signs around the perimeter of their property when they moved in in 2022. 

However, 35 residents backed by The Ramblers Association applied to the council for Mill Lane to become a public right of way, with an ongoing inquiry beginning in May. 

More Royalty
See more
Conversation

For more information on our conversation section, please read our Community Guidelines. Comments featured and views shared are not endorsed by HELLO!.