Ramblers are claiming victory in a long-running battle over access to land adjoining the Battle of Britain memorial at Capel.

Last year a court told businessman John Button to remove obstructions he put over two gates to block access to the battery site, so called because it housed three big guns during the Second World War.

The site had been designated open access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act. It was the first time legal action had been taken under the act.

After the case Mr Button applied to Natural England, the government body which administers open access land, for large parts of the site to be exempt from the ruling, thus still denying access to walkers.

But after negotiations with Mr Button, Natural England has ruled that ‘a restriction of public access to the open access land at Capel battery would not be reasonable’.

John Button fenced off the site

The site will be open, apart from a compound which Mr Button wants to develop.

The obstructions have been removed, and people are now free to walk on the site.

Members of the White Cliffs Ramblers – the branch of the national ramblers organisation covering south and east Kent, which backed the legal action after reporting the obstructions – are delighted.

Chairman Margaret Lubbuck said: “Commonsense prevails. We have the right to roam now on another small part of the White Cliffs.”

Mr Button’s son Martin, who has been acting as spokesman on the battery site dispute, said the real victory was for his father, as an important part of the site would be exempt from the Natural England ruling.

He said his father, who has spent £200,000 on the site, wants to turn that particular area into a tourist attraction.

Plans include putting a big Second World War gun there and restoring an underground hospital.

He said: “We accept the rulling but I don’t know why the ramblers are claiming a victory. It is really a victory for us."