To ask who I’m supposed to report my CF neighbour to?

Bang on her door at 6am and ask her to unlock the gate for you. Every morning. Get someone else to knock five minutes later. Keep bugging her.

Right, so who do you pay it to?

The padlock belongs to her. That's the issue.

OP do not cut the lock.

For God's sake can everyone please stop suggesting this.
Yes it's criminal damage as the padlock belongs to her.
No the police wouldn't be involved unless you did this and she reported you OP.
She seems very much the type who would.
I'm a police officer. Had no choice but to bring someone in (albeit voluntarily) who had been victim of their neighbours harassment for months and months and had finally snapped and thrown a stone at their window. Their neighbour of course had reported them straight away. Go through the proper channels such as council etc and don't give this silly woman any excuse.

Another vote for Fire Service. What happens if there’s an emergency right next to that gate & emergency services have to take the long route in? (They would just cut it but.) Them, the mgt company, the council and the bolt cutters in that order.

Again, no legal expertise but if she did report the removed padlock, I imagine she would have to prove she had authority to padlock the gate in the first place.

I’d just cut it off and not worry about any disguise as it makes it seem like you are doing something wrong. She doesn’t own the gate, she has no right to prevent access to a public park. She can report all she wants but the police won’t do anything and if they do bother to come out they will probably tell her the exact same thing.

Oh I thought we were the only ones with this type of CF. Ours is the only remaining trustee of the management company. Has bolted the park, used funds from maintenance to plant spiky trees to prevent walkers, put multiple ‘private’ signs. A complete nightmare. Was told to fuck off at a parish council meeting by the elected member! It’s only the residents that can resolve it through the management company- good luck these types are indefatigable!!

This. All day long. The cheeky fucker.

This is what I was thinking. The fact that the OP describes the road as "technically" a private road confuses me, because it either is or it isn't. Eitherway, if not the Council, someone has to be the owner of it, whether that's a person or company, or each of the freeholders having a share of it.

I accept that what this neighbour has done is probably wrong on many levels, but my question is are you any more in the right to challenge it if it is that the owner(s) of said road are yet to complain?

If you send your money to the management company for park maintenance, then it is their problem to deal with. You are paying them to manage estate issues. The exception would be if there is a board of elected residents that oversees the management company and the management company is only in charge of logistics.

Council - someone in our area put a 'Private Road' sign on our unadopted road. It was reported and the council had it down within hours - they appear not to take kindly to people privatising roads/access etc

Also she must have to charge that doorbell, I’d maintain surveillance and pounce!

Get a local councillor involved they will know who to liase with, potentially go and talk to her. If you’re brave enough I’d confront her and explain it’s making it inconvenient for families, could you have a key etc

The road may well be unadopted but I assume its still a local authority park and so personally id report it the council and a local councillor too

Well if you don’t want to cut the bolt off because she’ll see, time to get angry. Go knock on her door and say you are really cross about the lock being put on the gate stopping people from your estate using the gate, did she see who put it on as you are going to report them. (Be vague about who you’re going to report to). Say that you know lots of the estate are angry about it and you’d hate to be the person who did this when it all comes out. Go knock about selfish people limiting other residents (get in a thing about all the dog walkers hate not being able to do a loop). Say you’re going to borrow some bolt cutters tomorrow and cut it off. You’re going to go door to door and see if you can work out who you’d unreasonable neighbour is. Let’s see if it she sneaks out in the night and takes it off.

Be careful about cutting lock off, I think the police could prosecute you for damage to her property (the lock). At least that's what I was told when we thought somebody had stolen our son's bike and used a lock on it. We wanted to retrieve it, but got told that it would be criminal damage to break the lock.
Ridiculous, I know.

Boring. Dress up as Big Bird and do it.

I'd treat this the same as when private landowners block public footpaths. www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking-hub/getting-obstructions-removed-paths

go out at night and dress admin black

I would contact the developer and then your local councillors. On my estate we still have roads not adopted after 25 years!

I agree with PP that you should talk to the Council. Get hold of a copy of the local Ordnance Survey map (library, buy one, etc) which will show public footpaths.

You could ask the Ramblers' Association for advice as they're very hot on keeping Rights of Way open, even if this one doesn't quite fall into their remit. It might, though.

Bolt cutters. Every time. Public access must be maintained under The Outdoor Access Code.

I'd invest in not only shiny bolt cutters of my very own, but a range of entertaining costumes in which to appear while removing said obstruction. Money well spent. I bet she's the type who moans about children being on screen too much, too... 🙄