Local walking group, West Wilts Ramblers, have voiced frustration over long delays in their efforts to install a kissing gate in memory of a much-loved Westbury walker.
Dave Hill, who died in December 2022, was a keen rambler who wanted as many people as possible to enjoy the countryside. To honour his memory, his family and the Ramblers planned to replace an ageing stile leading to the White Horse Way with a more accessible kissing gate—improving access to the hills and creating a lasting tribute to Dave.
However, nearly two years after the idea was first proposed, progress on the gate remains slow despite Wiltshire Council’s assurances last October that they would ‘expedite matters’ in the search for the landowner.
Liz Hill, Dave’s widow, said, “Dave lived all his life in Westbury. When he wasn’t out with the Ramblers, he would often walk up to the White Horse ‘to stretch his legs’. He knew the importance of exercise and appreciated how easy it was to access wonderful countryside from the town. His family and friends are very keen to get this stile replaced with a gate to allow more people to share in this.”
For months, the Ramblers have been stuck in limbo as Wiltshire Council has been unable to determine who owns the land beneath the stile. Natural England has confirmed it does not need to grant consent for the gate, and the Ramblers understand that English Heritage has no objections either.
Parvis Khansari, corporate director place at Wiltshire Council, told the White Horse News that attempts had now been made to contact a previous tenant who controlled the land by the stile.
Parvis said, “We have written to West Wilts Ramblers to inform them that we now have consent from Natural England to install the memorial gate which was needed due the location being within a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and that we have written to the previous tenant of the land (as we have been unable to establish the landowner) to inform them of the proposal to install the memorial gate.
“If we do not hear back within four weeks, the gate can potentially be installed by the end of April 2025.”
However, the Ramblers say the delays highlight a wider issue of slow progress on countryside access. A spokesperson for the group said, “It is unfortunate that the simple matter of erecting a kissing gate has taken so long. This confirms that access to the countryside is a low priority for Wiltshire Council.”
Liz Hill is urging anyone who may have knowledge of the landowner to come forward, hoping to avoid further setbacks in completing the tribute to her late husband.
The stile in question is at ST 90167 51511; Easting, Northing 390167 , 151511 ; the ‘what three words’ location code is sprinter.timeless.encodes.
Picture: Liz Hill at the location of the planned kissing gate
