Hemsby and Winterton villagers 'cut off' by footpath closure

But for the past decade, a blockaded path has threatened this ancient connection.

People in Hemsby and Winterton-on-Sea are now fighting back to stake their claim over a footpath they say has been used for generations, which landowners claim crosses private land.

Signs at the entrance to the Winterton Valley Estate informing the public it is private property (Image: Newsquest) At a packed Hemsby village hall, a public inquiry was held this week to determine the future of the controversial route. 

Villagers say the closure, created when a homeowner erected a fence on either side of a 30m stretch of land ten years ago, has left them without a safe and accessible route between the neighbouring communities.

The village of Winterton is known for its beach and dunes (Image: Newsquest)

However the Cole family who run Winterton Valley Estate and have owned the land for nearly a century, claim the route has always cut through private land. 

The contested route linking Winterton and Hemsby (Image: Google)

DISPUTED ROUTE

The path, which runs between Bush Road in Winterton and Long Beach Road in Hemsby, was created by the RAF in 1946 when the site was used as a military base.

Villagers say it is the only properly accessible route between the two villages, as there is no footpath on Hemsby Road.

The village of Hemsby is less than two miles south from its northern neighbour of Winterton (Image: Newsquest)

The coastal path that runs parallel traverses along steep steps down to the dunes. Its uneven, sandy surface is unsuitable for wheelchair users and prams. 

The steep steps down to the coastal path through the dunes on the Winterton side of the disputed path (Image: Newsquest)

PATHWAY PROVOCATION

The dispute came to a head in 2015, when homeowner Joanna Richardson blocked a 30m length of path which passed through her land to the south of Winterton Valley Estate.

Speaking as a witness at the inquiry, she said she had run-ins with people attempting to use the "cut-through" when she was renovating her Sunny Lodge home in 2014.

The blocked-off route at the southern end of the Winterton Valley Estate (Image: Newsquest)

This led her to investigate its legality, with her lawyers concluding it was not a public right of way.

The small section of path under dispute is at the southern edge of Winterton Valley holiday park (Image: Archant)

This meant she could be liable for damages if anyone was hurt on her land, and she decided to fence off the path. 

She has since sold the property but has had to retain ownership of the land.

"I could not sell it with all this going on," she told Planning Inspector Nigel Farthing, who held the hearing.

Dr Richard Verschoyle (L), a Winterton resident who has applied for the footpath to be instated, with Rebecca Durrant (R), legal representative for the applicants (Image: Owen Sennitt)

FOOTPATH CLAIM

The closure of the route in 2015 motivated 133 people to submit claims to Norfolk County Council, stating the route had been used as a public path since at least the 1940s.

An order was issued to NCC by Dr Richard Verschoyle, who lives in Winterton, to have five separate routes between the two villages added to the 'Definitive Map' of public rights of way.

But the Cole family has objected to the proposals. So has Ailsa Bell, who owns a property along the path close to where it was blocked at Sunny Lodge.

The public inquiry at Hemsby Village Hall was full (Image: Owen Sennitt)

'USED FOR GENERATIONS'

Several people took to the witness stand to attest to the historic use of the footpath.

If protestors can prove it has been used continuously for at least 20 years, they hope they can persuade Mr Farthing it should be protected as a public right of way.

Under common law, the maxim goes: "once a highway, always a highway."

Villagers have called it a "crying shame" that the route is now closed.

Jane Roberts (L), with fellow villager Tony King (R) (Image: Owen Sennitt)

Jane Roberts gained a round of applause for her testimony, claiming she remembered walking the route as a young girl in the 1960s but had likely travelled along it in a pram after she was born in 1951.

"It has always been the case that we can go that way. I presume my mum and dad were told they could by their parents."

But Katherine Barnes, a barrister from 39 Essex Chambers representing Winterton Valley Estate, picked holes in her statement. She complained there were several discrepancies in the dates Ms Roberts claimed to have used the path for, some by a matter of a few years.

But this got a frosty response from the crowd and spurred a quick retort from Ms Roberts.

She said: "You seem to be making out that I am deliberately trying to mislead. It is a long time ago but  I have travelled along that route all my life, since before I can remember."

No entry signs at Winterton Valley Estate, as you approach from the beach from the northern side (Image: Newsquest)

PRIVATE LAND

Winterton Valley Estate insists the route has always passed through private land and that there have been signs informing walkers of this since at least the 1970s. 

James Cole, the company secretary of the family-run business, produced several photographs that showed 'private, no entry' signs erected at various points along the disputed footpath.

James Cole, company secretary of Winterton Valley Estate, with barrister Katherine Barnes at the public inquiry (Image: Owen Sennitt)

Both the estate and the owners of Long Beach Park to the south have said they have frequently had to tell people not to walk through the private land over the last four decades.

Mr Cole and his family believe the fact that the signs and fencing were erected at various points over the last 60 years shows there had never been an intention to allow a public right of way through the estate.

However, several villagers claimed they do not remember ever seeing signs warning them they were on private land until more recently.

They insisted they were never told they could not use the route until it was suddenly shut off in 2015.

DECISION DUE

Villagers in Winterton and Hemsby have an anxious wait to hear whether or not the footpath order will be agreed, after the two-day inquiry concluded on Wednesday 18 September. It could be several weeks before a decision is made.