Pippa Middleton ordered to remove unauthorized car park

Pippa Middleton and her husband, James Matthews, have been ordered to remove a car park constructed without planning permission at their £15 million Barton Court estate in Berkshire.

West Berkshire Council rejected a retrospective planning application for the facility, ruling that the development was incompatible with the “beauty, landscape, character, or rural setting” of the surrounding area. The estate is located within the Wessex Downs, a designated National Landscape. Planners described the car park as a “visually intrusive and urbanised feature” that disrupted an open meadow setting.

In addition to visual concerns, officials raised potential environmental risks to the nearby River Kennet chalk stream. An appeal against the council's decision was dismissed in July. The couple had argued the car park would only operate seasonally from Monday through Thursday, but this did not persuade authorities.