Row over access through equestrian centre in Sheffield

Local resident Anna McCord believes she was wrongfully refused access through Clough Fields Equestrian Centre in Crookes when she was “physically blocked” by a woman with a horse when trying to walk along a 50-metre path through the stables.

Sharing her frustrations on Facebook, she discovered she wasn’t the only one who had experienced access problems.

“I got hundreds and hundreds of responses,” said Anna, claiming that some people have reported walking through the stables without issue for decades.

“People said they felt unwelcome, that they’d been shouted at, so I thought this really is an issue that we need to sort out.”

Researching it further, Anna was surprised to find that the path had never been declared as a public right of way.

But she believes it shouldn’t now be closed after being continuously used for so long and has started campaigning for it to be formally recognised.

By asking the public to submit evidence of historical use to Sheffield City Council, she hopes they will decide to officially change its status to allow unrestricted passage for walkers.

Owner of the stables Bruce Cantrill says he and his wife, Mandy, initially continued to allow access to the public as a permissive right of way when they bought the land in 2017, but they have since set up a riding school on that part of the site.

They decided to close it for safety reasons in 2019 after a number of incidents spooked the horses, causing them to break their ties and run off.

There has also been much higher footfall through the centre since the pandemic, exacerbating the problem.

When trying to stop people coming through, Bruce says Mandy has been “assaulted” and subjected to abuse by people who take issue with the change.

He says Sheffield Council has supported his closure of the route, and even helped install an alternative permissive path with official signposting, but people have continued to ignore it and insist on coming through the riding school.

Sheffield City Council has not yet responded to requests for a statement.

Bruce believes that if Anna’s campaign is successful, there will be disastrous consequences for his business.

“We’d probably have to close the riding school. It’s just too much of a risk we feel,” he said.