Madonna News

Dec 11

Madonna wins rambler ban without a shot being fired

Madonna and Guy Ritchie have finally succeeded in banning ramblers from their land over the winter - after warning they might be shot.
The move comes days before right to roam legislation takes effect in central southern England, which could have meant hundreds of ramblers gaining access to their Ashcombe estate in Wiltshire from Tuesday.
This weekend, however, the Countryside Agency revealed it has allowed the couple to declare their land a commercial shoot - delaying any access until at least February.
The estate will open from then until September, when it will close again. Ashcombe is the only estate in the region to be allowed the exemption, though the ruling extends to part of a neighbouring estate.
A spokeswoman for the agency said Madonna and Ritchie had claimed the property was intensively used for shooting between September and February. "We have now agreed that the land should remain closed for nearly six months a year so ramblers don't disturb the pheasants and partridges and aren't put at risk by shooting," she said.
The decision follows a court battle this year in which the singer and her film director husband said they feared for their privacy.
An agency spokesman said: "We will review this to see if the claims about disturbance and risk are justified and we might change this ruling in later years."
Under the act there is a statutory right of access to mountain, moorland, heath, and downland. Its introduction marked the culmination of 120 years of campaigning.
Nick Barrett, chief executive of the Ramblers' Association, said: "I admire Madonna's capacity to keep reinventing herself but turning into a feudal landlord is a step too far.
"She has won this victory through having lots of money for lawyers. (But) her estate is relatively small so it is annoying but not important.
"Madonna may have won for now but this legislation tilts the balance away from centuries of domination by land-owning elitists like her.
"I would predict that in 10 years' time all the landowners will look back and wonder what they were worried about. Walkers and ramblers are a responsible and well-behaved crowd."
source : timesonline.co.uk

Categories : General News