Please can I ask for everyone's help, we may lose our grazing :(

Haphazardhacker

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In my village (Hazlemere in South Bucks ) ,we have a bit of land which has been leased to local horse owners for generations. It has enabled many local people to keep their horses for a relatively low cost on a diy basis. The land is split into 6 small yards which each have stables and about four fields,in total there are about 25 horses that are accommodated on the land. We range from happy hackers to competitive riders.

The land is now up for development. We have recently lost a local farm to development- which was a diy yard and housed about 20 horses, and the area is also likely to lose another livery yard/riding school as a new motorway junction is planned. In the plans are numerous "provision for football/cricket/sports pitches" yet us equestrians who will be losing our land seem to have been disregarded.

Could I please ask that you show your support by liking or sharing this page?

Also if anyone has any advice or tips on how best to go about fighting this it would be much appreciated.

https://www.facebook.com/saveourgreenbelthazlemere/
 

Sugar_and_Spice

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You need to speak to the BHS. I know this isnt about access rights but they know how to get your voice heard and can advise you how to go about it. At some point there will have been a planning consultation, ideally that would have been the time to voice your concerns, but there might still be something to be done now. The problem you'll face is those facilities you mention are probably public access, whereas a livery yard is something just for those owners who keep their horses there, so its not the same thing at all.

If you put it from the perspective that other areas will now have more horses, the impact on other traffic from road hacking or something, then maybe you could get a new bridleway out of it so at least when you all crowd into other areas there's more places to ride. Especially if you're willing to talk to local land owners about a permissive route. Or maybe the council will have land elsewhere in the same town which they'd be willing to rent you.

I think you need to put it from a community perspective rather than "we haven't been organised enough to find another yard yet and don't want to go anyway so please help". Get all the horse owners and YMs involved in whatever way helps. And any related people eg local RDA groups etc. So its not just one person who appears (to the council) to be moaning because they can't have what they want. Is anyone else non-horsey impacted (who hasn't already been accommodated)? Eg walking groups? Charities? Get them involved too if you can, on something that benefits you both. You need numbers.

A bit late now but in future don't ignore those planning signs put up on lamp posts etc. Good luck with it. :smile3:
 

Haphazardhacker

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The public consultation hasnt happened yet. We have until the 8th August to express our views. Trust me this has not been brewing for a while, first we heard of the plans was a week ago.
 

Pearlsasinger

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Definitely contact BHS. I think you will probably find that the 10 yr plan for your area identified the land for development. Unfortunately local authorities are selling off anything that they can in the current 'austerity' climate.
 

Haphazardhacker

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Thanks, will get in touch with the BHS. The land is privately owned, there is also a public footpath in the middle of the land, leading to woods (owned by the residents association), where riders pay a permit for. From word of mouth it seems that our land isnt in imminent danger and if it goes ahead we are talking 5-10 years, by which time I will have most likely moved away, but I just cant let this wonderful place go without a fight. Am considering become a gypsy as their land is also up for developmemt, yet the council have come up with numerous options for moving their grazing.
 

Pebble101

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Definitely contact BHS. I think you will probably find that the 10 yr plan for your area identified the land for development. Unfortunately local authorities are selling off anything that they can in the current 'austerity' climate.

I don't think it's anything to do with austerity and everything to do with the need to build more houses. It's happening in our area too (and probably all over the country) and most of the land they are looking at is owned by private individuals.
 

Princess16

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Agree with Pebble more like greedy development companies building tiny homes all cramped together at extortionate prices given areas.

Where we are there are plans for affordable housing to be built within next few years, it's happening everywhere unfortunately.
 

Haphazardhacker

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I get what everyone is saying and yes this country needs more houses but surely its worth trying to stop it happening. I would dearly love to buy my own land but I havent even got my own house yet.
 

PeterNatt

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I would strongly advise you to contact the 'Campaign for the Protection of Rural England' (CPRE) for assistance as they are great believers in building on brown field sites (those used previously for commercial businesses) than building on green field sites which provide a refuge for wild life and recreational purposes.
Best of luck in preserving this as green fields.
 

Sandstone1

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You could try natural England and your local wildlife group. If there are owls or bats or newts etc in the area they may help you fight development.
 

Pedantic

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We are classed as second class citizens, it's disgusting, your pissing in the wind as far as stopping the rape of britains countryside and any areas to ride on, you may as well spend your time and energy finding somewhere else for your livery, and you can forget all the signs saying "caring builders" etc etc blah blah, they will cause havoc noise dusts mud etc etc and not give a toss about local people already there, they will hit and run take the money and move onto somewhere else to ruin, then your left with the idiot drivers anti social behaviour fly tipping noise take away wrappers etc etc, even if they make a token gesture of a public track or small area to ride, it will be packed with dog walkers cyclists and general ashooooooools all in your face, been there got the T short numerous times and still wearing it on a daily basis.
 
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Luci07

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It's not just South Bucks, it's happening in Surrey as well. Now that buildings can get change of use and can be developed, yards are being sold off. I understand we are a relatively small community when you take our needs against that of housing but the yard which was shut down near to me (and where I had been for over 13 years) saw around 40 horses needing new homes and was sold to be developed as a bungalow. I have started looking at the CPRE because there seems to be more and more pressure on greenfield to build. Planners have been trying to get pp for 5000 houses on Wisley Airfield. Local infrastructure and roads can't support that. Friend is seeing the same where she lives.
 

Deltaflyer

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It's about time the amount of money horse owners pay in tax (VAT) compared to many other areas of leisure/sporting activities was appreciated. We pay VAT on just about everything we buy. Hay, feed, bedding, equipment, clothing for both horse and rider, safety gear..it goes on and on, and in some cases, livery. If the amount of VAT each horse owner paid was compared with say...cyclists.. we'd win hands down. You'd think that alone would give us more of a voice.

Would this land you're talking about happen to be on the Penn Road by any chance?
 

Orangehorse

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At last year's BHS Access Conference there was a very good presentation by a lady who had a similar problem. She organised a ridden demonstration to the local town hall to highlight the problem of proposed development and its effect on local riders and local equestian businesses. She had a plan of how to go about organising this, including co-operation with the authorities and the police and a video of the riders and support vehicles (picking up droppings!). If you go to the BHS website there should be the Access Conference papers available for you to look at.

If you reckon that every horse is worth £3,000 per annum to the local economy, that soon adds up to quite a lot of money.
Councillors are interested in facts and figures.
 

Goldenstar

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I get what everyone is saying and yes this country needs more houses but surely its worth trying to stop it happening. I would dearly love to buy my own land but I havent even got my own house yet.

I wish you luck but it's happening everywhere and horse keeping is set to get much more difficult and expensive in the next ten years .
 

Deltaflyer

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You would be correct delta.

Over the years many of my friends have kept horses along there.

This grabbing every scrap of land for throwing up 100s of rabbit hutch houses with inadequate parking is out of control now. That road is horrendous as it is already in rush hour. Hazlemere X roads will just be so gridlocked no one will get anywhere. GPs, NHS, Roads, Schools are all struggling - it's beyond a joke now.

But, most importantly, where do they expect people to take their horses to for crying out loud. So many places around the terriers area have gone because of development. I presume the RS/livery yard your referring to is Cobbles Farm on Spring Lane? Or is there another that I don't know about !! They want to build on Slate Meadow at Wooburn Green - what happens to the horses that live there ? It's ridiculous. It's about time the big picture was looked at instead of this short sighted attitude the government seem to have.

Horse owning is a part of our culture, it's a healthy hobby that teaches young people compassion, responsibility, gets them out of their rooms and outdoors. It promotes all sorts of good things. It gave my happiness and fitness when I got back in to horses. It seems every other sporting/leisure activity seems to get bent over backwards for by the local CCs but horses seem to be regarded as a nuisance.

Well, we'll all get the last laugh when they run out of fuel to runs cars and create electricity as we saunter about on our horses and the non-horse people will have to use their own legs **MWAAAHAAAA**
 

Haphazardhacker

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Thanks for that delta and thank you for your support.
May use some of those thoughts as part of my campaign. Horses contribute so positively to general health and especially mental health. Many people i know owe their sanity to their horses.

Yes its cobbles farm i refer to with the motorway junction.
 

Deltaflyer

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Thanks for that delta and thank you for your support.
May use some of those thoughts as part of my campaign. Horses contribute so positively to general health and especially mental health. Many people i know owe their sanity to their horses.

Yes its cobbles farm i refer to with the motorway junction.

Feel free, this and bridleways are two of the things I feel really strongly about.

So many bridleways are inaccessible these days due to the increase of traffic and no provision is made for horse riders to reach them safely. Too many if you can reach you only go down and then turn round and come back the way you came. Too many are severely overgrown and virtually impassable. Too many have lethal surfaces because off road bikes and cyclists churn them up when it's muddy and in the case of some 4x4s are driven on them.

It's frustrating when you see fields with lovely grassy tracks around the edges. If only the councils took a little more interest and may be came up with schemes to encourage land owners to allow access with maybe a permit or some kind of pay as you ride schemes to help with maintaining the tracks. I know some places do this through choice like Cholsey. Also I would love to ride the Cookham ring but there's not really anywhere to park a lorry safely and securely as far as I'm aware.

Much of these housing developments wouldn't be needed if existing built on sites were used. For example, on the London Road towards Loudwater there's an office block that's been vacant for ages and I notice it's been developed leaving the existing building and converting it in to apartments. I bet there's loads of places around where that could happen.

when I go to Quainton and pass that Berryfields place my heart breaks at the vast amount of fields that are now gone forever, covered in crammed together little rabbit hutches with barely and gardens and inadequate parking.
 

applecart14

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Afraid the very same thing happened to my friend who had been on a yard for over thirty years. She had to find somewhere else and the yard is now an affordable housing estate. She is happy where she had moved to so it worked out for her in the end.
 

PeterNatt

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The equestrian industry is the second largest land based industry in Great Britain and here are some more facts to add to your case for maintaining these facilities:

Of the 188,700 kilometers of Public Rights of Way in England only 22% carry rights for horse riders. Carriage drivers can only use 5% that are byways and restricted byways. Most of these do not link to form off-road circuits.
Of the 153,246 hectares of land which have been available for open access by walkers in England under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 only 0.24 Hectares has also been made available to horse riders. The proposed Marine and Coastal Access Bill does not provide any new statutory access rights for equestrians in England and Wales.
There where about 26 fatal road accidents and 95 slight road accident injuries last year.
The number of equestrian road accidents voluntarily reported to the BHS in 2006 where 3 riders killed, 22 injured, 19 horses killed and 32 injured.
80% of road accidents involving horses which where reported to the BHS were on minor roads.

The equestrian industry is the second largest land based industry.
Horse racing is second only to football.
There are 2006 licensed riding schools in Great Britain.
There are 1.35 million horses in Britain.
There are 975,000 live horses with passports in Britain.
They are owned or cared for by 720,000 people or 1.2% of the UK population.
The average annual expenditure per privately owned horse is £2166.
Leisure riding is the main equestrian activity showing an increase of 5% in just over 5 years.
Riding has become far less seasonal. 95% or riders now ride all year round compared WITH 61% IN 1995.
There are more than 34 million registered cars on the roads of Great Britain.
This equates to a ratio of 37 cars to 1 horse in Great Britain.
The number of horses in Britain around the 1930’s was actually smaller than it is today 1:3 and has steadily grown. Not the diminishing figures you would assume from the rise of the motor car.
43% of British households 1.1 million have a household member with some interest in equestrianism (11 Million).
4.3 million people have ridden in the previous 12 months (that is 7% of the population).
The 1999 estimate was 2.4 million riders indicating a substantial growth.
Some 2.8 million households contain at least one rider.
38% of riders (both genders) are aged between 25 and 44
75% of horse riders are female.
31% of horse riders are aged 16 and under.
18% are aged 16 to 24.
The urban/rural split amongst frequent riders is 50:50
Horse owners, carers and riders in Britain spend more than £4 billion per year in gross output terms (on horses and riding).

270,000 People employed in the Equestrian Industry
The equestrian industry is worth 7 Billion Pounds per year
On average £3,000 is spent per horse per year

The British Horse Society has 69,610 members.
There are 192 Volunteer Bridleway Officers in Great Britain.
11,000 People per year take a BHS examinations from Stage 1 through to the Fellowship exam.
4,000 people per year take the British Horse Society Road Safety test.
There are 717 BHS approved Riding Schools.
There are 2,593 BHS Riding Instructors.
The BHS responded to 600 Welfare issues per year
The BHS has issued 28,401 horse passports.
The Pony Club has 35,000 branch members and there are 350 branches in Great Britain.
The Riding for the Disabled Association provides riding and carriage driving opportunities for 25,000 adults and children with physical disabilities. Each year more than 18,000 dedicated volunteers give a total of 3.5 million hours of their time to Riding for the Disabled.

149 affiliated bridleway groups
29% of the 3,000 km of rights of ways are open to horses in Hertfordshire
9% of the 3,000 km of rights of way are open to carriage drivers in Hertfordshire

A circular route for a short hack should be about 3 miles
50% of riders report abuse from other road users
25% suffered physical intimidation

89 Dog attacks
88 Road accidents
13 Fireworks
18 Low flying aircraft
20 Slippery Roads
9 Difficult gates



What we want from government
1. That equestrians should have parity of treatment when it come to the provision of access (access for equestrians should be on the same basis as it is for walkers and cyclists). Public money should be for all users.
2. That adequate provision be made for all non-motorised vulnerable road users on all roads not just for pedestrians and cyclists.
3. That the licensing of livery yards should be mandatory.
4. That the proposal for a levy for equines under Defra’s Responsibility and Cost Sharing Plan (aka the horse tax), should be abandoned.
5. That the historic network should be properly recorded and returned to the public. Since it already exists and in some cases has interesting landscape features, engineered surfaces and is part of our cultural heritage.
6. That where public funds are used to create new paths these should be for all non-motorised users.
7. That the list of streets (the list of highways maintainable at pubic expense [section 36(6) Highways Act 1980]) should become a legal record of status with restricted byway status being the default scenario.
8. That the Forestry Commision dedicate higher rights of access on their landholding under section 16 CROW Act – they have dedicated access for walkers under section 15 for walkers.
9. That an agreed scale of compensation for public right of way creation orders be published – this would then encourage local highway authorities to use the provision of section 26 of the Highways Act rather than shying away from it.
 

Haphazardhacker

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Wow, thank you!!!!
Went to the open meeting this evening, got lots of maps and plans etc and will be voicing my opinion with a letter, including the points raised as well as a tonne of statistics now :).

Yes delta agree about berryfields. I deliver wine out of aylesbury for my job and have many customers quainton way, have seen berryfields go from open fields (including a lovely house with maneage - often saw someone schooling as i drove past), to crammed in houses and postage stamp gardens and inadequate parking. Developers seem to not realise that most households will have two rather than one car, drives me to distraction sometimes.
 

Sugar_and_Spice

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PeterNatt that's very interesting.

Haphazard Hacker good luck with your campaign. It's nice to see somebody fighting for equestrianism. I don't know if its relevent but with the last olympics there was supposed to br some kind of "sport legacy" encouraging all the olympic sports. Destroying an entire equestrian community in one area doesnt really fit with that.

ETA: when you do your letter, you could do a template one and see if others are willing to sign one and post it off.
 
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