Question Author
The covenant is specific to the owner of the property, and as it is a residential property I am of the belief that in order that I may freely enjoy my property, then it includes the ability to have people come round. The whole problem is really that the gate has not been regularly used for a number of years, perhaps 4times a week, but now I am moving there so it is open a lot more, as I spend more time there. The residents had grown accustomed to it being shut, so are now complaining. Even though they do not shut the other gate, which seems to counter any arguments they have of wanting privacy. Have consulted legal advice, and it hasn't been overly helpful. In all honesty I think that they may shut the gate, but not lock it. I may be wrong but a number of cases regarding uninterrupted access are to do with business premises, and so the courts have allowed gates to be locked outside of business hours, but require them to be open during business hours. Logically for a house there are no business hours and access should be available at all time, so a lock would defeat that. I shut the gate when I'm not there, it's just tedious to go and do some wiring, and 20minutes later find the gate shut. This is not in an urban environment so there aren't hordes of people suddenly walking through, rather it is a prime example of insular community mindsets.