By Eric Nicolson

STAGECOACH TYCOON Ann Gloag may be one of Scotland’s richest and most influential women but there should not be one rule for her regarding right-to-roam legislation and another rule for everyone else, Perth Sheriff Court heard yesterday.

The hearing, which will determine whether Mrs Gloag will be forced to allow ramblers permission to wander in the grounds of her Perthshire mansion, heard evidence from a Perth and Kinross Council access officer who believes a principle is at stake and insisted she should not get special treatment.

The multi-millionaire is seeking approval to bypass the controversial legislation on part of her Kinfauns Castle estate.

She claims the public should have no right to walk within an established one mile perimeter at the castle, set in a 28-acre estate two miles from Perth, which she bought as a private residence over two years ago. She also wants to keep the immediate grounds around the £4 million castle private so she can entertain VIP guests, including royalty and foreign leaders, outside the public eye.

Mrs Gloag believes her family could be open to kidnap attempts if she was forced to move a two-metre fence closer to her home. She feels it would be exposed to potential security breaches, including the risk of raids by organised gangs.

Perth and Kinross Council and the Ramblers’ Association, however, want the right-to-roam legislation enforced and Mrs Gloag to move the fence much closer to the castle.

All evidence on behalf of Mrs Gloag has been led and yesterday it was the turn of Perth and Kinross Council.

Access officer for the local authority David Stubbs gave over three hours of evidence to the court.

His job entails upholding new access rights and advising the public and landowners on where people “should and shouldn’t go.”

In this case, he believes that there is a “principle at stake.”

He pointed out, “It’s too much to expect us to think who lives in a house and who uses it. That doesn’t get us very far.

“We have to refer back to the act and code and be consistent. Consistency is important. There are other large houses. You can’t have one rule for one person and one for others.”

He described the walkers he deals with as “reasonable and responsible people.”

On the subject of ramblers getting too close to a property such as Kinfauns Castle, he observed, “People have a radar for this kind of thing. They tend to get uncomfortable when they get close to a house. The access code is helpful in saying how close is too close.”

Mr Stubbs first became aware of a fence being erected at Kinfauns Castle in the summer of 2005 when a member of the public asked him to investigate it.

Historic Scotland, the Perth and Kinross Access Forum and the Ramblers’ Association all subsequently took an interest in the issue.

The court heard that Mr Stubbs first thought that Mrs Gloag had put up the fence while being unaware of the Outdoor Access Code. He then discovered this was not the case.

In correspondence with Mrs Gloag’s lawyer, Peter Watson, Mr Stubbs said he was “looking for a deal acceptable to all sides.”

He added, “We weren’t looking for a row, we were looking to defuse the situation.

“My view is that some of the land within the planned fence is access land. Peter Watson’s view was that access rights don’t apply to any of the land within that fence.”

The council granted Mrs Gloag retrospective planning permission for the existing fence.

Mr Stubbs admitted that he now regrets not “giving clearer advice to planning colleagues.”

He said, “This is access land and shouldn’t have a fence round it.”

The hearing before Sheriff Michael Fletcher continues.