Pippa Middleton & Her Husband's Neighbors Show No Sign Of Surrender In Property War

Pippa Middleton and James Matthews' ongoing feud with their neighbors is reportedly heating up in Berkshire. As the younger sister and brother-in-law of Catherine, Princess of Wales, the couple's souring reputation with locals has remained a hot topic of conversation since moving into their £15.5-million Barton Court home with their three children. The 145-acre country estate has undergone several controversial changes since they first purchased the property in August 2022, with the latest battle surrounding the 400-square-meter car park they installed without planning permission from the West Berkshire council. 

Despite failing to receive the necessary permissions, the couple's estate representatives argued that the car park was vital for anglers and fishermen who help fund the outrageously lavish life of Middleton and her family. "Income derived from the estate from sale of its fishing rights along the river is a significant income stream which supports the wider upkeep of the land," they claimed in a statement (via Daily Mail). However, disgruntled Kintbury villagers and locals argued that the concrete eyesore disrupted the natural beauty of the meadow it was constructed in near River Kennet. "I was shocked when all the fencing went up and a huge gravel area was laid at the side of this marsh in a rural area. It looks like the urbanization of the countryside and is totally out of keeping," one local villager wrote (via Daily Mail). 

In February 2026, the West Berkshire council ruled that the couple had to remove the car park because of its visual disruption of scenic land in the North Wessex Downs National Landscape. They appealed to overturn the ruling, but the Planning Inspectorate has now dismissed their appeal and confirmed that the car park must be removed from their property over concerns that it is damaging the natural landscape.

There are plenty of shady rumors about Pippa Middleton we can no longer ignore, and her frequent disagreements with her neighbors are becoming increasingly hard to overlook. The latest car park dispute arose just a month after she and James Matthews won a legal battle against their neighbors over a security gate they installed in their driveway in September 2022, shortly after purchasing the property. A local walking group called the West Berkshire Ramblers objected to the gate, claiming it interrupted foot traffic through the community. The group legally applied for portions of the driveway to be designated as a public footpath in January 2023.

During the inquiry, Matthews argued that they were never informed of any public use of the drive when purchasing the property and defended their need for added security. "There are implications for my family, due to their high public profile, which means there is a need for a higher level of security than would otherwise be the case if the circumstances were different," Matthews said (via the Independent). "Therefore to improve security for my family, before we moved in, I arranged for an electric security gate to be erected on the drive." In September 2026, planning inspector Kenneth Taylor determined that the path was not used by the public enough to warrant any mapping changes.

While Middleton and Matthews successfully upheld their right to keep their driveway private, they aren't winning many fans in the court of public opinion. Now, royal watchers interested in all the details of Middleton's marriage are eating up the drama no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. "I want to be this level of rich where I get worked up about my neighbors building a quote 'unsightly' car park," one Redditor said.