Hack writer

The saga of the racecourse’s plans to extract chalk fill material from the ‘hatched area’, ostensibly to provide a local source of fill for the Tattenham Straight improvement works, but more likely designed to render the hatched area permanently unfit for use by hack riders, continues.

The papers for Thursday’s meeting of the conservators are now available. Paper 9 is about the Tattenham Straight works. The extraction from the hatched area cannot now go ahead because the racecourse cannot obtain permission from the freeholder, The Trelissick Trust. It seems that the required material will instead be taken from another site which cannot yet be identified. Reading between the lines, it appears the contractor will identify a suitable site around the time that the extraction is to take place, because it cannot predict in advance what site will be in play this far ahead. That is likely to rule out a site on the downs, because the conservators are not being asked to authorise extraction on the downs, only to give approval in principle to sourcing from a local site (but one which can’t be identified to the meeting!).

The racecourse has also said, in regard to the hatched area, “The Racecourse would still be happy to consider assisting the Lower Mole Project to construct some scrapes subject to all stakeholders being in agreement.” How thoughtful!

The racecourse plans to extract fill material from the hatched area on Six Mile Hill, and to transport it in lorries along public bridleways, has been dropped from the planning application currently before Epsom & Ewell borough council.

The BHS will not now object to what remains of the planning application before the council. We are of course pleased that this part of the plans, which would have been hugely damaging to public use of the downs, has been abandoned. The racecourse says that it could not proceed because there were land ownership issues. More likely, it thought that permission would be refused. Not for the first time, it’s the conservators who are eager to sign up to the racecourse agenda, and the planning committee of the council which steps in to prevent abuse of the downs.

The planning application for the works to the Tattenham Straight, and the procurement of fill material from Six Mile Hill, has been validated and went live on 4 January 2012. All the papers are available on-line. The closing date for comments on the application is 27 January 2012. See below for our concerns.

See the Epsom Guardian

Edit: and subsequent story.

Here’s a copy of the BHS’ email to Jean Smith, chairman of the board of conservators, about the works approved at its meeting on 5 December 2011, and the acknowledgement from the chairman, explaining that she has asked Frances Rutter, the clerk to the conservators, to respond.

The works have yet to be the subject of an application for planning permission, and must also be approved by the council (we understand approval has been delegated to the Leisure Committee).

A special meeting of the conservators has been scheduled for tomorrow, 10 November, to consider proposals for the racecourse to undertake works to the Tattenham Straight and Lonsdale Stand. The report can be seen on the council’s website here.

No problem with the works. However, look at the report, para.3.1:
“The Conservators will note that the proposed location to be used as the source of ‘fill material’ for the works is within the ‘Hatched area’ at the southern end of the Downs. This area is marked on the Signed Map of the Downs (under the 1984 Epsom and Walton Downs Regulation Act) as being permitted for hack riding after noon if, in the opinion of the Training Grounds Management Board (TGMB), conditions allow. The Conservators are provided with an update regarding the TGMB’s consideration of this matter at each of their normal meetings.”

Then at the description of how the fill material will be sourced, page 7 of the report (consultant’s annexe):
“The area of land is currently sloping, and is located between routes along the Downs. Conor Morrow has suggested that the grass and soil is removed in a series of strips with grass left in between. The stripped areas will then be seeded down with Kidney Vetch from locally sourced seed. The main areas will be stripped by 500mm, with the edges graded back at gradients of 1 in 6 to ensure that the reduced areas do not create hazards for walkers.”

Now look at the photo on the last page: this shows where the sourcing will take place: immediately east of Walton Road, almost fully occupying the hatched area extending east from Walton Road except along the southern margin adjacent to the Mactrack. This would render it permanently unuseable by horse riders, which is no doubt the intention. (The racecourse tell me that this outcome wasn’t planned, but merely the result of this site being favoured by its consultants. Ed)

Needless to say, not a word of this was mentioned at the consultative committee meeting last week.

Commenting on the conservators’ decision not to allow the Epsom Oddballs
‘Perch run’ to be held on the Downs in January 2011, an ‘OAP’ has said:

“Do you honestly believe that a bunch of runners, once a year, are going to do lasting damage to the Downs? If my memory serves me right the majority of the course was on existing well walked paths!! No matter, I will look to you to apply the same logic behind your decision to Derby Day and the hordes of spectators, not to mention buses, helicopters and assortment of funfair rides.”

Couldn’t have put it better myself.

Another dog attack on the downs, again helpfully reported by the Epsom Guardian. Sadly, the borough council seems to have lost interest in its initiative to improve dog control in the borough’s open spaces, as reported in the report of the last conservators’ meeting.

The saga of the hatched area continues. An email

sent today to the secretary of the Training Grounds Management Board, at the invitation of the last meeting of the consultative committee, asking about what ‘conditions’ (the word used under the 1984 Act) would permit hack riding on the hatched area (seeing as it’s never been permitted anytime since 1984).

The downskeepers have recently reopened the hack ride through the heart of the Warren Woods. It runs from opposite Grosvenor Road in Langley Vale, crosses Walton Road at a slight stagger, and emerges on the Old London Road bridleway about 80 metres south-west beyond the racecourse crossing.

This is one of the hack rides which was marked on the signed map in 1984, but it’s thought to have become overgrown and fallen out of use by the early 1990s. Just east of Walton Road, the reopened path crosses the site of a former schooling area, which can still be identified by the dense growth of spindly trees.

A big thank you to the downskeepers for their work over the winter in reopening the hack ride: it’s clearly been a big job, with a good number of small trees felled. The reopened ride should also be good for wildlife, with new glades in the former dense woodland.