- EXCLUSIVE: Alan Brunt, 73, said the ugly metal fence would not come down
- Nature lovers said the ancient meadow needed to have access for the public
A millionaire farmer who sparked national outrage when he put up a 300ft metal fence in the middle of a beautiful ancient meadow has told walkers ‘they bring it on themselves’.
Defiant landowner Alun Brunt, 73, said Somerset’s Iron Wall would not be coming down any time soon because it ‘does the job’ in Rodden Meadow, Frome.
Nature activists slammed him as selfish for closing off the field to the wider public almost a decade ago but this week Mr Brunt was adamant he had done the right thing.
They criticised him for turning a ‘beautiful park into something resembling East Germany’.
Yet Mr Brunt told MailOnline: ‘They make it bad for themselves. They think they can do what they can on your land.’
‘People were using [the meadow] as a 30-acre footpath – riding motorbikes, dogs, everything was out there.
‘I thought, ”I’ve got to restrict the people to the footpath.”
‘They wouldn’t want me to walk on their gardens and lawns would they?
‘I bought the field and if I wanted to put cattle out there, I couldn’t because there were so many dogs out there.
‘It had to be under control.’
Mr Brunt said since the fence went up he has used the field for cattle and to make hay for horses.
He added: ‘We don’t want dog poo in hay.
‘A footpath is not a green space. That’s why I did it.
‘You speak to a lot of landowners with a footpath through their fields and it’s a big problem.’
He said other footpaths got metres wide during Covid as people flocked outdoors, sometimes ruining farmers’ crops during their pandemic walks when ‘there was nothing else to do’.
Not everyone agrees with the self-assured farmer.
People can access some land across England without having to use paths under their right to roam if the landowner agrees to it and as long as they follow stringent government rules.
Campaign group Right To Roam wants access ‘extended to woodlands, all downland, green belt land, rivers and river banks’.
The group also wants access rights ‘broadened beyond rambling to include a right to kayak, swim, and wild camp’.
Right to Roam’s Jon Moses told MailOnline that Mr Brunt had turned ‘a beautiful park into something resembling East Germany’.
He said: ‘People in Frome were using the field beyond the footpath for many years.
‘It’s his property but that’s not the same as exclusivity.
‘Land isn’t the same as owning a yacht. Land has to be a sociable asset.
‘Nature has transformed my life. It’s where we go for things that are higher than ourselves.
‘Since the pandemic, we are seeing lots of these enclosures.
‘All of a sudden the fences go up and that’s it. There’s a wider community interest there.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
