A BITTER land dispute in the village of Melkridge will be settled by a High Court judge.

Four years have passed since the Halbert family of Melkridge Hall gated shut a 50-yard lonnen between the village and the A69.

The family claimed the land was theirs, but farmers and other residents insisted it had been a public right of way for generations.

The battle appeared to have ended last September, when Government-appointed inspector Sue Arnott ruled that the route should be opened, and added to the definitive footpaths map as a public bridleway. But the Halbert family has applied for a judicial review of the inspector’s decision, which followed a two-day public inquiry in Haltwhistle last summer.

Documents prepared for Northumberland County Council’s Rights of Way Committee, ahead of its meeting on Tuesday, have revealed an application was submitted by the family in October.

The documents state the Halbert family is challenging the validity of the bridleway order on six grounds.

These relate to the public inquiry and the decision by Northumberland County Council’s planning and environment committee to open the footpath in July 2013.

The meeting also heard that the Halbert family had suggested an alternative plan in November, to divert the public bridleway route onto undisputed parish land.

But the proposal was opposed by Melkridge Parish Council.