Signatures Ashdown Access Petition : [ powered by iPetitions.com ]

#	First Name	Last Name	Country	Comments
51	Dan	Lees
52	Nic	Shaw
53	Adrian	Frisby	UK
54	Barrie	Page	UK
55	James	Lancley	UK
56	David	Jones	UK	Access to the Ashdown Forest is needed not only to boost the local economy, but also to encourage people to use sustainable transport.
57	Martin	Ritchie	UK
58	Ben	Holmes
59	Andrew	Johnson	UK
60	Charles	Hodgson	UK	A wonderfull area that can only benefit from greater access. The countryside is our heritage and belongs to us all
61	Alex	Burge	UK
62	Peter	Carr	UK	Healthy recreational sport and safe areas to ride are paramount in today's world of over connsumption of fast food.
63	David	Roberts	UK	I often think how great it would be to be able to ride off road overthe Ashdown Forest - I often ride on the roads around and over it - keep up the good work
64	jack	pye	UK	it would be helpfull
65	David	Winter	UK
66	Malcolm	Hedley	UK
67	mat	clarkson	UK
68	Emma	Knowles	UK
69	Johannes	Stangenberg-Haverkamp	UK
70	Johannes	Stangenberg-Haverkamp	UK
71	Polly	Vinyard	UK
72	Mike	Brondbjerg	UK
73	Barrie	Jones	UK
74	Ric	Cooper	UK
75	Noel	Cresswell	UK
76	Trevor	Ridland
77	Ben	Anderson	UK
78	katy	dawson
79	mark	holttum	UK
80	andrew	Ware	UK
81	David	Shanahan	UK
82	Graham	Meaden	UK
83	Graham	Meaden	UK
84	Matthew	Bode	UK
85	David	Edwards	UK	cycling on the forest would be the best!
86	simon	champion	UK
87	lee	baldwin	UK	I have been in communication with Cllr bagshawe, below are copies of my email correspondance Dear Mrs Bagshawe The remit of the conservators to encourage "quiet recreation and amenity" is an interesting one given that a number of hunts have access to the forest. It would be relevant in this context to compare the damage this causes to the ground, plantlife (certain wildlife!) and how much noise pollution is generated with the sport of off road cycling. I may be jumping to conclusions but there is just a hint in your last email that you feel that cyclist may be inherintly more likely to cause damage or a nuisance than other forest users. I would suggest that whatever mechanisms are currently in place to monitor and prevent nuisance amongst all forest users would suffice for the vast majority of cyclists. I think it is true to say that from a political viewpoint most cyclists tend to be tinged a little green! and may in fact be less likely, as a group, to be nuisance creators and more likely to respect the environment than say Sunday afternoon picnikers. This may also, of course, be my personal prejudice coming to the surface. This said it is possible to allow cyclists to use such a terrain for their sport. Dartmoor national park, for example, has a code of conduct for off road cyclists that encourages responsible practice (www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk). The code includes the following which I would suggest could be applied with little allteration to the Ashdown forest. 1. Ride only on bridleways, byways, public highways and other permitted routes. In the case of the Ashdown forest this could easily be extended to firebreaks that are commonly rutted from motor vehicle and horse traffic. 2.Choose your route carefully, particularly when the ground is wet, to minimise erosion and damage on Dartmoor. 3. Make your presence known to and give way to walkers and horse riders. If approaching from behind please call out a greeting 4. Take care not to frighten animals 5. Take extra care through farmyards 6. Keep noise to a minimum 7. Cycle in small groups, in single file where necessary, and avoid bunching 8. Keep to a safe speed, especially when going downhill. Beware of unexpected obstacles. 9. Avoid braking heavily, especially on grassy surfaces which can be easily damaged. 10. Follow the Highway and Country Codes Points 2 and 9 and well known to any experienced off road cyclists and are often repeated in any magazines or handbooks on the sport. In addition to this summary there is a good leaflet explaining the rational underlying the code. A similar strategy has allowed much of the back country of New Zealand (once the sole preserve of riders and walkers) to be opened up to cyclists. In response to your specific questions it is true that cycles, in common with feet (equine and human) will tend to churn muddy paths. For this reason most of us would prefer not to cycle in these conditions since it is nigh impossible to make progress and anyhow as you can see from the suggested code, it is not advised. On dry paths, particularly the sort of baked clay we see in the weald after a dry spell, a cycle will barely disturb the surface other than to through up a little dust. As for monitoring would it not be possible to make a modest charge for a cycling permit to help with the funding of forest maintenance. Irresponsible behaviour would then result in withdrawal of this permit......just a thought! I hope these points are of use Yours Sincerely Dr Lee Baldwin Sheep Plain Crowborough ----- Original Message ----- From: Councillor Daphne Bagshawe To: Lee Baldwin Cc: Councillor Anthony Reid ; Councillor Chris Dowling ; Councillor Francis Whetstone ; Councillor Mary McPherson ; Councillor Phil Scott ; Councillor Roger Thomas ; Councillor Tony Slack Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 8:17 AM Subject: [Norton AntiSpam] RE: cycling on ashdown forest Dear Dr Baldwin , I am very sympathetic to your point of view and when this subject is raised at the Board I will ask if we have areas of the Forest where this sport could be permitted without damage to the Environment and discomfort to other users. As I am sure you are aware our remit is to encourage use of the forest for "quiet recreation and amenity " There can be problems in woodland. I myself own some woodland and although there are no rights of way across it I welcome walkers, with or without dogs, riders etc etc. I have ,however, excluded mountain bikes because of the substantial damage they caused to the paths and rides through the churning up of the ground , wheelies and so on. I do not know a lot about cycling. Are the types of bike you are interested in less likely to cause this damage? Also are there ways in which use could be monitored so that nuisance to others could be prevented? Yours Sincerely Daphne Bagshawe -----Original Message----- From: Lee Baldwin [mailto:lee.baldwin@virgin.net] Sent: 27 April 2004 18:02 To: Councillor Daphne Bagshawe Subject: cycling on ashdown forest Dear Mrs Bagshawe Since my last email I have had the opportunity to talk with a representative of the Ashdown Forest conservators. It would appear that the decision to ban "wheeled vehicles" from the forest was made in 1974 when the responsibility for the forest was devolved from Parliament to the conservators. It would also seem that this ruling has never been reviewed. This immediately raises a number of questions 1. Was the term wheeled vehicle originally intended to exclude bicycles? This may well not be so since the sport of off road cycling was not in existence then 2. Does the catch all term include wheelchairs which I would suggest is unlikely (if so probably illegal!!). 3. Given the current governments, sensible, interest in promoting exercise and reducing obesity amongst younger people is it not now a very good time to see how this popular sport can be integrated into the forest. I agree with your view that hunts and other equine activities should be given space to use the forest. Thirty years on from the original policy formation off road cycling should also be given space. I look forward to further discussion Dr Lee Baldwin
88	Brendan	Chaplin	UK
89	Gary	Russon	UK
90	Beth	Embley	UK
91	Nick	Gage	UK
92	Andrew	Hebron	UK
93	Mike	Moore	UK
94	Keith	Walter	UK
95	Ben	Bradley	UK	Please open the Ashdown Forest for mountainbiking. There's so few open areas of bridleway around kent and east sussex!
96	Jim	Roberts		I fully agree with the proposal of allowing cycling in Ashdown Forest.
97	Chris	Davies	UK	I've often wondered why you couldn't cycle in the Forest so if this helps then great!
98	Sharon	Howe	UK	Yes I think there is definately a case for mountain bikers to be provided with limited access to the Ashdown Forest ideally with dedicated cycling trails. I use the Ashdown Forest a LOT for walking, I am also a mountain biker and cycle a lot on the south downs/and other local areas to EG like Tilgate woods. Although I think the honey pots of the Ashdown Forest are already over populated by walkers (Gills Lap and central areas). I think there is a lot of potential for some development in the western side (used less by walkers). If you want to contact me further on this then feel free.
99	David	Gale	UK
100	David	Roberts	UK	I think it is a pity that the forest is not available for biking, a great way of getting children into the outdoors