Category: C – Prescot – Detton

Crammer Gutter and Plans For Work Parties

Crammer Gutter – We have had a couple of incidents reported where riders have tried to use the route across the top of the field and had difficulty getting out of the boggy ground. This is potentially dangerous and so we have contacted the Wildlife Trust to re-visit what we can do to improve the route. Chris has meet with Clive Dean from SWT (Reserves Manager) to discuss this. We agreed that the Clee View Bridleways Group will write to the council as it is the council who are responsible for “ensuring that the surface is in a fit condition for its intended use” and it is not the landowner. We will state that we intend to make improvements to make the route safe and useable following the plan agreed with SWT in 2017. This will involve a series of cross drains to take water from the ditch at the top of the field under the path and release the water onto the field (the aim is to keep the field wet). We will also ask for support from the council with materials (drainage pipes and stone). As this is an SSI, Natural England will have to give approval for the work (which should be sought by the council). To back this up, can anyone who has tried to use the route in the last few months and had difficulties please notify the council at https://next.shropshire.gov.uk/outdoor-partnerships/report-a-rights-of-way-issue-and-feedback/

Work Parties – We need work parties as a matter of urgency to clear the Keepers Cottage (R) and Hinton (A) routes. The Keepers Cottage route will also need some improvement work where the ground has been eroded. A site visit will be arranged. A site visit will also be arranged to look at the Detton (C) route at the brook to see how we can unblock the pipes.

Please let us know if you have any preferences for when to hold the work parties (ie. evening, weekday, etc?)

Improvements to Route C – Prescott

Steve and John spent a long day and multiple trips with their dumper of hardcore and stone and spread with Steve’s digger to improve the going at the Prescott end of route M.

This work was finished off Monday evening with some extra help from Pete and Chris and 2 further loads of stone spread in the eroded and wet areas.

Many thanks to Steve and John for their hard work.

We plan to have a further work-party for this route to clear back the overgrowing edges and open up the path. There are also a couple of wet  patches which may require more stone if we can arrange to get the stone there. This work-party will probably be on a Friday evening followed by a chip supper!

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Drainage work on Prescott to Detton Bridleway

On Sat 3rd November, John Sutton, Steve Jones, Cyril ??? and Pete Brown, met at Prescott to continue the drainage pipe on, up the hill from where the drainage work had already been done. That part of the bridleway has dried up well with the work that had been done previously. The section above has remained wet to the top of the hill. A trench with2 laterals  was dug by Steve with his mini digger and the drainage pipe laid with 2 dumper loads of gravel on top and 2 dumper loads of stone. Hopefully this will make this section as dry as the one below. This task took from 10:30 until it got dark, so thanks for the efforts of all involved. Also thanks to Steve and Cyril for use of the machines.

Major Improvement Works to Drainage

Work was done over 3 days to put in drainage to improve the area that has always been a problem towards the Prescott end of the path whenever it is wet. Stephen and John did most of the work with help from various others including myself, Pete, Arthur, Cyril, Clare. Funding for the digger work, stone and pipe was provided via the grant we received from the Cleobury Country pot of the Local Joint Committee (thanks to Clare for organising this) plus a match funding contribution from ourselves in labour and our own funds. We hope this work will show benefits to this important route in our area.