Time to get Bourley Road access back
A community resource, sorely missed
For decades people living in and around Fleet, Church Crookham, Aldershot & Farnborough have enjoyed walking on the local heath lands.This area is precious to so many, holding many memories and for some even defining what is special about living in this area. However, in recent months the local community have been effectively barred from access due to the closure of the main car park on Bourley Road.
It is true that without the protection afforded by the area being the Army training lands these precious and internationally important acid heath habitats would have most likely have been lost to development years before their ecological status was recognised. We appreciate that this land is primarily for military training, but it is also an established communal resource.
It is therefore important that as a community we make polite representation to the Army about them opening the land back up for public access. Unless we convey the depth of feeling and the widespread sense of loss that being denied access to these lands presents then they will not appreciate the impact of their decision.
In order to be effective we should coordinate. Firstly by everyone who has a concern writing to the appropriate commander to express their desire to have the car park opened again; of course do feel free to copy in your MP. We should all be polite, but firm in expressing what we feel about being denied access.We need to co-ordinate our sending of personal representations in order to have the greatest impact, we also don't want to be putting military contact information on a publicly accessible web-site, hence why we are asking people to register with us for details.
If you want to help more pro-actively, maybe say with helping run a social media campaign, then do e-mail us directly at bourley@cchart.org.uk.
If you have friends who you think may be interested in getting involved please direct them to this web-page.
Thank you,
James.
It is true that without the protection afforded by the area being the Army training lands these precious and internationally important acid heath habitats would have most likely have been lost to development years before their ecological status was recognised. We appreciate that this land is primarily for military training, but it is also an established communal resource.
It is therefore important that as a community we make polite representation to the Army about them opening the land back up for public access. Unless we convey the depth of feeling and the widespread sense of loss that being denied access to these lands presents then they will not appreciate the impact of their decision.
In order to be effective we should coordinate. Firstly by everyone who has a concern writing to the appropriate commander to express their desire to have the car park opened again; of course do feel free to copy in your MP. We should all be polite, but firm in expressing what we feel about being denied access.We need to co-ordinate our sending of personal representations in order to have the greatest impact, we also don't want to be putting military contact information on a publicly accessible web-site, hence why we are asking people to register with us for details.
If you want to help more pro-actively, maybe say with helping run a social media campaign, then do e-mail us directly at bourley@cchart.org.uk.
If you have friends who you think may be interested in getting involved please direct them to this web-page.
Thank you,
James.
Recent NewsThe replacement car park at Peter Driver is now fully open and will remain open. It is for the exclusive use of the general public.
During the airshow there are further restrictions than normal on the army training land under the display area. This is due to tighter safety regulations following last year's Shoreham crash. |
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