However, the issue with volunteers (as always, and I’ve been on both sides of the table) is reliance on people who are giving up their spare time. There is often enthusiasm but there is a lack of accountability. When volunteers are good, they tend to be very good. When they’re not so good… Consistency, training and monitoring would be the key, as would effective guidance.

Agreed. I guess that one of problems is not only how to attract and recruit volunteers, but crucially how to pick the ‘right’ people, in a similar way to finding a new employee to fill a vacancy. You need a selection process to weed out those people who will cause problems and those who promise their time and effort but prove completely unreliable.

One solution might be to contact the national organisations for user groups and see if they have any regional representatives and/or to contact any local clubs (Ramblers, cycling clubs, horseriders and 4×4 off roaders). The secretaries etc. of such clubs may be able to help find suitable volunteers.

On that note, with regard to which cycling clubs might be worth contacting, don’t rule out the racing clubs or the CTC/Cycling UK: many of the members will also be into off road riding, and some of those clubs will have more retired and semi-retired members who would be willing and able to give up their time.

All of this is still up for debate as it seems that HCC are still at an early stage of putting this together.

It might be best to start a very small informal trial. In HCC’s shoes, assuming their people are based in their Winchester offices, I would aim to set up a small trial covering the ROW within a smallish radius of Winchester. That should soon show if the concept would work and is worth developing and rolling out, as well as give an opportunity to identify and iron out any issues at an early stage. Keeping it local to Winchester should make it easier for HCC’s people to run and monitor the trial, and if necessary to intervene if problems arise.

Morning all,

Sorry about the radio silence over the last few months, real life has been somewhat challenging and everyone’s gaze has been focussed on the north of the county.

However, I do have something to report.

It’s about the very exciting issue of path clearance and hedge cutting. I know.

Every year the Countryside Service maintain the long-distance paths in the county, making sure they are clear for everyone. They also ask EVERY PARISH COUNCIL to identify their 5 key paths for clearing. There are funds and resources available to make that those paths are kept clear of vegetation for the summer.

Why am I telling you this? Because 1st February is the deadline for the parish councils to tell the Countryside Service which paths they want to be kept clear.

So, if there is a path that you use a lot and gets overgrown, now is the time to start telling your parish council about it and lobbying to get it onto their list of five.

Good luck, here’s to a slightly nettle and bramble free summer.

I managed to have a chat with the Map Review Officer this week and asked him about this. He admitted that he has no idea whether it’s possible but has forwarded it on to someone in their technical team who will definitely know. As soon as I hear anything, I’ll put it up here.

Hi Andy,

I’m not sure if this is your remit or not, but are you familiar with Winchester City Council’s plans to expand the P&R car park at Bar End for coach parking?

Their intention is to bulldoze a significant amount of mature woodland including the infamous Bar End trails which have been a popular spot for riders globally since their inception in 1997.

I have meet with WCC and HCC and they are looking at other sites that we have suggested. However, this remains their preferred option. They have not yet applied for planning.

Questions are therefore:

1. Were you aware of this?

2. As a rider / ecologist / rights of way advocate, is this something you would also oppose?

3. Do you have any power/leverage with(in) these organisations?

Doesn’t really make sense when their South P+R is never even half full…

Doesn’t seem fair. I imagine clearing mature woodland will be difficult and the levels would be expensive.

Need to bear in mind Barton Farm will also have a P+R in the future.

I can’t see the image. Where are you getting the info from?

I don’t know whether this is part of my remit or not. I’ll see what I can help with.

I have heard nothing about it. This is the first I’ve heard, I’ll ask around and see if any of the other advocates around the place have heard anything. Am I right in thinking that you’re talking about the dirt jumps in the trees between the P&R and the roundabout?
If I’m honest, I know very little about them, being more of a “wheels on the ground” kind of rider. What is the current status of the trails regarding permissions and management? That kind of thing is important.

Not automatically.
As a palaeo-ecologist I am not necessarily opposed. those woods are relatively young (being beech and, therefore, unlikely to be more than 1-200 years old). It’s worth remembering that trees don’t necessarily equal good from an ecology point of view, especially in the South Downs. So, from the photos it’s difficult to tell whether it represents a significant ecological resource (and is at the outer limits of my knowledge). It is therefore, difficult for me to form an opinion.
As a rider and access advocate, I’m am predisposed to oppose anything that removes riding opportunities in the area. Obviously, these trails have a very particular audience, and one that I am not personally part of and is not represented by any of the major bodies, but that does not limit their value to those who do ride there. As such, I would oppose any plans to remove the resource.

In a word: no. HCAF is a statutory body and organisations in the area have a statutory duty to listen to our advice. They do not have a statutory duty to follow that advice.
As with all things access advocacy-related the devil is in the detail. Have any alternative venues for the trails been suggested?
Do you want to give me a shout off-list and we can talk about this in more detail out of the public eye?

Doesn’t really make sense when their South P+R is never even half full…

Agreed, except for when travelers take it over as they did earlier this year.

We continue to document with time-stamped photos how underused the South P&R is, even during the Christmas market. There’s also 8-10 acres of flat, highly compacted grassland just to the south of it. We’ve made this argument to WCC and they have promised to re-evaluate this site. Our feeling is that they are too embarrassed to do a U-turn having already spent money on surveyors.

Am I right in thinking that you’re talking about the dirt jumps in the trees between the P&R and the roundabout?

That’s right.

What is the current status of the trails regarding permissions and management? That kind of thing is important.

It’s informal at best. Our aim for the past two decades has been to build lines & ride bikes, not form quangos or write up a Charter. But if we need to formalise ourselves for WCC’s sake, we can.

Have any alternative venues for the trails been suggested?

Not yet. We love the place, our history with it, the woodland, the unique topography, the chalk, the location.

Appreciate your help – it would be great to discuss further offline: rbosullivan [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk. We’re down there regularly, building.

My kids (3, 5, 7) ride there. I challenged the WCC members to name five free outdoor activities for Winchester kids to take part in. They couldn’t name three in the meeting, let alone five.

Is there anything online about it? I can’t see your image.

Caspian: you’ve got mail

Sorry to chuck a tangent in here but up in the Peak District/ Sheffield area we’ve had some good results advocacy wise and we chucked it all into one place to help others get involved and learn from our mistakes!

Again, sorry to interrupt, but it might help

Keeper of the Peak site:
The Advocacy Files – a celebration of effort

Joefm – Other than a FB page we have no online presence, currently. I may change that shortly as I think a credible-looking website will help our case, especially as we have more and more local Primary school aged children coming down to use it.

ShanAndy – Cheers, replied just now and look forward to meeting you on site.

Pook – Many thanks, I’ll go though the site tonight and see what I can learn from similar cases.

Sorry for the thread hijack but this site means a lot to us! It’s MTB friendly too in case anyone near Winchester enjoys riding jumps.

All interruptions are good. I’ve been slowly going through the advocacy files over the last six months or so. They’re really helpful for someone new to the game.

Keep up the good work

Many thanks to Shan Andy for the help since the above was posted, and for all the other suggestions to help save our trails & woodland in Winchester.

Petition is up and we are well on our way to 1,000 signatures in the first 24hrs.

If you get a minute, please read and sign!

http://chn.ge/2Cw91db

P.S. Sorry for the thread hijack. As you were!

Done and good luck!

Done. Usually come down into Winch on monarchs way by st Catherine’s then loop back out on the sdw. Might stop by next time to break up the ride!

Thanks both – call by anytime!