Swinley Permits

Swinley annual permits for 2012 are now on sale – running to 31/3/2013. The subject of permits usually brings up some healthy debate about paying for riding, but apparently this year all the money from annual permits goes into trail building and maintenance whereas previously the majority of it seemed to cover insurance.

So far so good, but I’m guessing the anticipated/rumoured parking fees at the Look Out may go some way to compensate the Crown Estate – I’ve not seen anything about that as I don’t visit the car park though.

So who’s paying and who’s objecting this year?

Paying, there’s plenty of free parking in/arround Swinley, if they start chargeing at the lookout it’ll just encourage users to disperse elswhere into the woods and/or other woods. Doesn’t affect me, I can ride almost from my door in Wokingham offroad to the Lookout.

It’s definitely an interesting situation. Firstly I don’t mind paying the cost of the annual permit to go riding there, and it helps fund the trail maintenance, so that’s all good in my book. Even better if a percentage of the money previously used for insurance can be put into the maintenance instead. I’ve not seen this announced anywhere formally, but it would be interesting to hear where the third party insurance liability is now provided from.

As for the need to pay to park, again, I’m not against that in principle, as it will mean people close enough choose other methods of getting there, where possible. However, the car park machines will be installed and operated by Bracknell Council, so the money will go
directly to them. The bigger question will be when and if this money comes back to the Crown Estate and then on to help fund any trail maintenance/development. I’m guessing very little funding will come through this way.

Also, and this is a rumour rather than a fact, the day permit will no longer be required or sold at the Discovery Centre. The assumption is that people will park at the Look Out and pay a parking fee instead. So does this mean that people effectively have a ‘get out’ from contributing to any form of permit scheme by claiming they are parked at the car park, or even just use the ‘no need to buy a day permit’ excuse in future?

Apparently, if someone was to park in the Look Out in future and go riding, there will be no provision for purchasing a day permit there.

Straightliner – the info re annual permit money going to trail building was from a Gorrick email I got the other day. I’ve deleted it so can’t quote chapter & verse, but that was a clear statement.

I haven’t heard anything to add credence to your info about day permits being withdrawn. If that were the case then I would have no cause to buy a permit – other than to support the work of the trail pixies of course.

It’s all a bit of a moot point while the checking of permits is such a rare occurrence though – the one and only time anyone’s challenged me was around this time last year when there was a Landy driving round with ‘Cycle Warden’ signs on it. A couple of spot checks around the jump gulley/clubhouse areas on a weekend could start getting the message out.

The email for reference…

Just a reminder that the new season Annual Swinley Forest Cycle Permit is available now and runs to 31 March 2013.
You can get your permit ONLINE now from http://www.gorrick.com or from the bike hire at The Look Out Discovery Centre at weekends and every day during the school holidays or from your local cycle retailer.
You will be please to learn that from this year, all your money from Annual Permit sales goes into trail building and maintenance in Swinley.
Thank you for your support and enjoy your riding.

Paying, thankfully I can ride form the front door and be in the forest in 5 minutes so any car parking charges won’t affect me!

Besides wouldn’t more people just part in Coral Reef now anyway or is that going to be charging too?

Besides wouldn’t more people just part in Coral Reef now anyway or is that going to be charging too?

I thought that, even the council cant be sily enough to encourage hundreds of kids to run accross 3 lanes of traffic, can they?

You reckon….?
😉

Paid, like I do every year.

Can’t see why people quibble?

Coral Reef car park will be charging a higher fee than the Look Out redeemable if you use the facilities

I think that a lot of the more recent trail work in Swinley has been good. Some of the trails get heavy use and if the permit fee is being spent on the trails then that’s fine by me. Some stuff gets changed – or made easier – but there are enough places of the beaten track in Swinley to keep it real.

On the pay to ride vibe – we don’t see it any place else really – but for a spot like Swinley, high pop density, high trail use, then if you can afford it I would encourage everyone to pay (either on the day if a vistor or get a permit if a regular)as it does look like it is keeping the place rolling.

Fair enough. Mind you both car parks (LO and CR) seem to have become more and more rammed over the last year or so, incredible growth in visitors I presume driven by Go Ape and the Segway thing.