from Clent Hills National Trust

 Dear Mr Weller,

 

Thank your for your email. We share your concern for the hills and surrounding areas and also for the locals who are distressed by this behaviour.

 

We have reported these offences to the local police, and we’ve also encouraged others to do the same via 101. I have this morning received an encouraging response from them. They say that they have tasked a whole team with “increasing proactive patrols and dealing robustly with those committing offences.”

 

We are also looking into reinstating an appropriate form of gate on Walton Hill to help prevent this from occurring in future. As the access is via a public bridleway, it will need to be a gate that blocks access to vehicles but allows horses to pass. We hope to get something in place as soon as possible. We’re also in regular communication with the police and the local council about putting posts in key places to prevent vehicles from driving onto verges etc.

 

Designations are more difficult to achieve as they are managed externally, but we will do all that we can to protect our special place both now and in the long term.

 

I hope this helps to reassure you that we’re doing what we can to resolve the situation, and that the local police are also preparing to deal with this as well.

 

Kind regards,

 

Emma Pullen

Property Operations Manager

Clent Hills & Birmingham Back to Backs

07824 609 296

Dear Emma

Thank you for your prompt response.  Very much appreciated!

However, I do have more concerns, especially over the laggardly action to protect the hills from abuse and over-use and your employee (name unknown) meeting with an overly protective Richard Marchant who was anxious to be shot of me and away from your staff member.  Why was that?  Who was your employee?  

Could he have been using his time, rather than increasing his risk of Covid transmission by sitting with Richard in his caravan, to digging back and infilling the wheel ruts on both the N Worcs Way and on the roadside verge in the lane just to the east of Walton Hill car park?

I walked over to Walton Hill from home late this morning and saw more clearly, in the light of day, exactly how the 4x4s came up from the car park, did their wheelies round the trig pillar on the summit before motoring back down the North Worcestershire Way.  I picked up litter and used the one litter bin at the car park, that had been emptied.  So that is good!

However, serious erosion and countryside was turned into muddy wheel ruts. What a mess!  Yet, no attempt at restoration by the NT worker who spoke briefly to me this afternoon before Richard quickly escorted me off his land.  And the broken, muddy verge to the east of the car park has been in its dreadful state for very many months, too.  Is the man I met not able to do a little hard manual labour to make good the damage?  I'm an old man but I'm still able to do a little practical work in maintaining public rights of way in our countryside south of the bypass.

I remember that for many years what is now a road for the 4x4s to the summit was a fairly narrow footpath for the N Worcs Way to the summit.  The brick path/track (also a bridleway, no 658 on Worcs Definitive Map) to Walton Hill Farm has a locked metal gate where it meets Rumbow Lane at Ferns Hollow.  I now recall it's been there for a very long time but it still effectively protects the hill from that side and the horse riders have accepted it being like that for decades.  Could you do the same on your side, at the car park, perhaps?

In my opinion, Emma there should be three strong metal gates safeguarding the hill from the car park but one has always been missing, I believe.  The NT has no excuse and has simply been negligent, in my opinion.  Horse riders might be given a key to the new locked metal gate for them, only.  Do they have a key for the locked metal gate on the brick track leading to Walton Hill Farm, do you know Emma?

Anyway, please tell me who the man was that I met today.  And do you still have an office/base at High Harcourt Farm?  Was that where the man had driven from, instead of walking?

Best wishes and many thanks for your helpful and quick reply to my first email.