09/08/2024
Email from Nattergals including information for the meeting:
I’ve just sent out a summary email to all the people who have been in contact, but specifically for the local equestrian community please can you pass on:
For the time being as we develop our plans, we politely request that riders stick to the existing bridleways – as shown in yellow on the maps below and attached, as well as site access points.
For 100% clarity the old cross-country course is out-of-bounds, as we do not have insurance cover for anyone riding on this who may have an accident. We have been advised by our H&S consultants to remove the existing jumps to avoid the temptation to use. Any unauthorised use of the land other than the bridleways will jeopardise our future ability to increase access.
Unfortunately, over the last few months we have had a lot of unauthorised users of the farm – both people parking up to walk dogs / horses, and sadly some activity at night, with ecological monitoring equipment being tampered with or stolen. We have therefore added gates at both entrances, and so vehicle access is restricted to those on-site business or residents. Walkers and riders are still very welcome on the public rights of way, however.
I trust everyone can understand our need to bring site health and safety, and security concerns under control in the first instance. We will be looking to engage with all stakeholders about site access and use as we go on, and as an example at our first site Boothby Wildland have plans to increase access by adding up to 4.6 km of additional permissible routes.
We are hosting a local community introduction event on Thursday 5th September 6-8pm, at St. Giles’ Church & Community Hub, Nazing – to introduce Nattergal and how we work, and provide a chance for some Q&A. All are welcome.
All the best,
Ben
