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NEWS
26.7.07
Hurtwood
control
meeting
When
I
heard
that
the
Hurtwood
Control
were
beginning
to
feel
that
mountain
bikers
were
beginning
to
have
a
real
or
perceived
conflict
with
other
users
on
the
hills,
I
felt
a
bit
concerned.
Hurtwood,
which
covers
Holmbury
Hill,
Pitch
Hill,
Winterfold,
Shere
Heath,
Farley
Heath
&
parts
of
Blackheath,
unlike
other
landowners
have
always
been
pro
mountain
biking.
This
(so
I
found
out
last
night)
stems
from
the
landowners
entering
into
Deeds
of
dedication
in
1926,
whereby
the
area
continues
to
be
privately
owned
but
is
dedicated
for
public
use
for
the
taking
of
'air
&
exercise.'
effectively
a
permission
to
roam.
Hurtwood
Control
is
a
charity
which
manages
the
rights
of
access.
It
is
funded
largely
by
'The
friends
of
Hurtwood'
which
effectively
are
anybody
who
chooses
to
join
up
by paying
a
minimum
donation
of
£25.
At
present
a
lot
of
'friends'
who
use
the
hills
have
been
complaining
about
mountain
bikers
&
as
they
contribute
a
large
portion
to
the
coffers
they
have
quite
a
big
say.
They
also
have
to
answer
to
English
heritage
because
of
the
Iron
age
fort
on
the
top
of
Holmbury
&
they
also
receive
some
grants
so
are
responsible
to
those
donors.
The
meeting
was
very
interesting
from
my
point
of
view,
the
major
landowner
,Handa
Bray
from
Shere
Manor
estate,
was
there
&
representatives
of
the
Hurtwood
control.
Their
views
were
very
refreshing
&
far
from
wanting
to
ban
mountain
bikers
they
wanted
to
find
a
solution
where
all
users
could
continue
to
use
the
hills
in
harmony.
I've
pasted
below
a
summary
of
the
outcome
of
the
meeting &
what
the
Hurtwood
Control
hope
to
do
in
the
future.
I
think
one
of
the
most
important
things
we/you
can
do
is
if
you
ride
on
those
trails
regularly
then
pay
your
£25
&
join
the
HC
& eventually
mtbkers
will
outnumber
other
users
&
you
can
have
a
big
say
on
what's
done.
www.hurtwoodcontrol.co.uk
Summary
An MTB Forum was organised by The Hurtwood Control on 25th July as a first
step in opening a dialogue with local bikers. Hurtwood Control's remit is to
provide access to private land owned in the majority by Shere Manor Estate.
They say mountain biking needs to be managed a bit more than it is at the
moment. The focus of the meeting was on Holmbury and Pitch Hill, where
trails, or parts of trails, will need to be changed to make them more
acceptable - ie, not going down fall lines and not shooting straight across
bridleways. They want trails to be ones that bikers want to ride, otherwise
there's no point in spending all the money / doing all the work.
If nothing is done to address the progressive deterioration of the trails it
may get to a point - if bikers don't step up to the opportunity to make a
difference - where the landowners have to revoke the Deed of Dedication from
1926 and ban horses and bikes from the Hurtwood. They really, really don't
want to do this.
What they want bikers to do:
Join the Hurtwood. It costs £25 a year, and that money is put into managing
the Hurtwood. It's peanuts for most of us in terms of how much we get out of
using the land. There are forms at the car parks, and there will be a new
web site from September which will have a secure donations page - there's a
basic one up already at www.hurtwoodcontrol.co.uk
Offer to help in the forthcoming consultation stage. This might later lead
to involvement in planning and building the trails. Hurtwood Control has
used Dafydd Davies to produce a survey and get an understanding of what the
trails and usage are like; he's been very positive about riding in the area
and about what can be done. He's also said that the unique nature of the
trails and the areas needs to be preserved. So: no theme park trails, no
Coed - y - Brenin loops or visitor centres. For all of this to come through,
they need mountain bikers to get involved in planning and eventually
building trails.
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