Mark Spencer MP - Clueless

Just heard Mark Spencer MP for Sherwood on BBC East Midlands Today talking about Public Rights of Way on private property in the context of the forest sale scandal. It's obvious he has no idea about the status of Rights of Way and thinks that they are owned by landowners and not the Highway Authority.

He needs to stick to something he knows something about (whatever that is).

Private Forest Ownership equals Less Access

Robin Wood near Melbourne is a prime example of how access to woodland can easily be reduced by private owners. This wood is owned by the Church Commissioners (i.e. the Church of England) and managed by the Forestry Commission. For many years open access to the wood allowed mountain bikers and horse riders to roam over all of it. However just over a year ago, things changed and a sign appeared announcing that the lease had changed. Changed for the worse. Public access was now prohibited. Prohibited, despite the fact that a public bridleway runs through the middle of it.

After pressure, tatty A4 posters were produced to say that the bridleway and the footpath were not affected but all other access was not allowed. Those tatty posters have gone but the bridleway is still not properly way-marked. 

Of course the locals ignore the "No Public Access" sign and still ride their horses and mountain bikes over the site. A less generous private owner would no doubt fence the site off and allow narrow channels for the public rights of way as has happened at Rigg Wood in Cumbria. Make no mistake the privatisation of our forestry will disadvantage walkers, horse riders, orienteerers and mountain-bikers. If you belong to any of these groups make your voice heard before you lose your access.

Swannington Footpath Re-opened

The Swannington footpath N108 closed by a local landowner has re-opened with a nice new sign after the Planning Inspectorate has ordered its re-instatement.

Well done to Swannington Parish Council, the Ramblers (Stan Warren) and the Leicestershire Footpath Association for putting up such a fine performance at the Public Inquiry last February.

Follow this link for the full story:

http://melbournefootpaths.blogspot.com/2010/02/swannington-path-inquiry.html

Melbourne Walking Festival 25 to 26 June 2011

From the Melbourne Walking Festival website:

This summer Melbourne Civic Society will host a weekend of walks in the attractive landscapes of South Derbyshire surrounding the historic  market town of Melbourne.

In all, we will offer 7 walks details of which are given on the Walks page. These range from 4 to 15 km, so suit all levels. On the Saturday there will be a Town Walk led by a leading local historian.

Why not join us in walking the attractive countryside surrounding our town?

The link is here:

http://www.melbournewalkingfestival.co.uk/

Why not book a place!

Save Our Forests Campaign

I sent this letter to Lord Hunt of Kings Heath recently as part of the Ramblers campaign to keep access to rights of way through Forestry Commission land.

===

Dear Lord Hunt

I am a passionate walker and live in the midst of the National Forest, much of which is locally owned or managed by the Forestry Commission.

I am therefore writing in connection with the Public Bodies Bill that is currently in Committee in the
House of Lords. Whilst not all land accessed by the public must be publicly owned, it is vital that any sale of Forestry Commission land be carefully managed, with public access as a top priority.

I am very keen that community groups are able to take a more active involvement in their local woodland, but it is important that everyone’s ability to continue to access and enjoy British woodland is at the forefront of any sale agreement.

I would like you to ensure that five key criteria are included on the face of the Bill itself – to be met before any sale of Forestry Commission land is considered.

1) Public access is maintained and enhanced.
2) Public rights of way and access land are properly managed.
3) No sale or transfer is completed until the purchaser has committed to preserving and maintaining access.
4) Where access is currently not secured in law, this is remedied through CROW Act dedication.
5) The local community is consulted and given the opportunity to play a full and active part in woodland management, including first-refusal on purchase.

I would urge you to raise these concerns in debate, and ensure that the Public Bodies Bill will not damage the interests of walkers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

Best regards

Barry Thomas
Melbourne
cc:
Eva Hartson-Sanders
cc:
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

Also look here:

38 Degrees | Save Our Forests

New Greenway Signs

Having been to a recent talk about the Greenways initiative at the South Derbyshire Environmental Forum in Swadlincote, I was pleased to see this new sign on the Cloud Trail just outside Wilson. These handsome signs are definitely an improvement on those they have replaced.

A neglected area of South Derbyshire - Sutton on the Hill, Thurvaston, Osleston and Longford

In this bush is a footpath sign. This is on Back Lane, Sutton on the Hill. This very pleasant area (about 5 miles south of Ashbourne) has some of the worst footpath problems I have encountered in the county. On a day's walk I came across ten problems that I felt had to be brought to the attention of the DCC PROW team. The sad thing is that most of the problems were here five years ago and I have the photographs to prove it.

To be fair to Longford, their paths were in better condition than the others.

More recent photos are here.

First the Old Plough has gone and now the footpath is being moved!

This is all that's left of the Old Plough at Weston: an attractive old pub flattened to make way for a housing estate. That's bad enough but now the footpath is going to be moved from stone wall it used to follow to a pavement through the estate. It looks as if there's not much that can be done now. This is just a further degradation of our Right of Way system.

More on Elvaston

I have just found this on one of my favourite blogs.

Unmitigated England: Creaking Oars

Friends of Elvaston Castle 1of 3

An eye-opening video. A bit shaky in places but worth watching.

It claims that some ROWs will be lost. I'll have to contact them to check the facts out.