Many thanks to John and Ted who have cleared Route A (Hinton- Winterdyne) with the mower and this is now much easier to use. It does now need a work party to cut back the overhanging branches.
Chris has cleared some of the overhanging branches on Route F.
We are still waiting for the council to come back to us regarding a number of issues we have raised with them. We will keep chasing them.
We will arrange work parties in the next couple of weeks to clear the overhanging branches on Route A (Hinton – Winterdyne) and also to clear brambles and overhanging branches on Route M (Walters Lane – Hill Houses). Routes J and K (Back of the Mounts and across the common) would also benefit from some clearance work.
Please let John or Chris know if you do any bridleway clearance work as we can book the hours to show the council the work we are doing on their behalf!
Ted, John, Matilda, Debbie and Clare have done a great job in clearing the path on Sunday morning. Many thanks for their hard work.
There is a section by the stream crossing that could do with some clearance. We will have a work party on Wednesday 26th June at 6pm. Contact Chris (info@cleeviewbridleway.co.uk) if you can come.
John and Ted will be taking the mower to clear Keepers Cottage bridleway (Route R) on the morning of Sunday 23rd June. We could do with some additional help with the clearance work. Meet at Keepers Cottage (southern end) at 10:30am.
We have contacted the Council Rights Of Way and hope to have site meetings with them soon to look at resolving some of the priority issues we have identified (including routes C,D, G and R).
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?)
John (Chairman), Chris, Jo, Sally, Philippa, Steve, Pete, Louise, Clare, Arthur, Ted, Gill, Becky, Matilda, Alison, Ewald
Apologies:
Yvonne, Clare, Colin
Chairman’s Report:
The chairman thanked everyone for attending and for their support over the last 12 months.
Clearance and improvement work completed includes –
Keepers Cottage (R) – Grass cutting , branch clearance and tidy up area at broken down gate.
Winderdyne (A) – Clearance work
Factory Lane (D) – Clearance work
Hill Houses (M) – Replace broken gate post and make fencing safer. Fallen tree removed and clearance.
Catherton Common- Crammer Gutter (F) – Digger/Dumper work and install drainage pipe under path, drainage improvements and stone. Made a significant improvement to the ease and safety when crossing the brook.
Repair Work To Mower – Many thanks to Arthur for fixing the mower so that it can now go backwards without a massive fight. (Note: We need to book this work as volunteer hours).
Fund Raiser:
We held a very successful Fun Quiz on 6th April 24 with over 80 people supporting the event. Total funds raised after costs was £888. Well done to everyone involved and a special thanks to Jo for the excellent food.
Treasures Report:
After starting the year with no funds for any work after the quiz and the £150 grant from the council we now have a bank balance of £939.06. All outstanding bills have been paid so we are in a position where we can undertake improvement projects that require expenditure.
Election Of Officers:
John agreed to continue in the post of Chairman and Chris agreed to continue as Secretary and Treasurer. This was approved by all attending.
Trustees – Clare proposed that all attending to be elected as Trustees (see Present for list of names). This was approved.
Plans For This Year:
Detton/Prescott and Factory Farm (Routes C and D) The Detton/Prescott route needs some work as well as the river crossing at Factory Farm.Will need some digger work and stone.
We can see if the council will provide some stone which can be left at the Detton end.
Agreed to arrange a site visit to look at what needs to be done.
Clare/Arthur will contact the land owners who use this route.
After the flooding and washing away of the footbridge the footpath at Factory Farm over the river has been temporarily diverted over the road bridge with the agreement of Clare and Colin. They are letting riders use it at their own risk but this is not ideal and we need to make the river crossing usable again. Need a site visit.
Keepers Cottage (R) – The path near where the old gate was is getting difficult to use. Need a site visit to access how to improve this.
Nunnery Lane (K to T) – No one has used this for sometime. Need to look at this to see if it needs work.
Cleeton Court to High Lane (N) and High Lane to Bromdon (Z) – Sally and Paula have walked this recently. The council have done the work on the bridge to make it safe. Could do with a clearance work party and see if we can improve opening/closing of the gates.
High Lane to Doctors Cottage (O) -There were problems with the crossing at the brook. Need to look at this.
Crammer Gutter – Catherton Common (F) – The work at the stream crossing is holding up well. Could ideally do with some more stone further up the route from the stream.
If anyone has issues with any routes in our area please let Chris or John know.
We currently have 7 tables booked so looks like we will be able to go ahead with the Quiz on the 6th April
We need to finalise details.
Quiz Rounds – Please check below. I think we were having 4 question rounds, who have I missed?
John & Gill – General Knowledge
Alison & Debbie – Pot Luck
Clare – Photo Round
Chris & Jo -Masterchef Skill Test
Louise & Andy – Horse Trivia
Raffle – I recall someone said they had some raffle tickets we can use. Please confirm. Also we said rather than drawing tickets we would randomly put a ticket on each prize on a table and then sell tickets sealed in an envelop. People can then check to see if they have won a prize. We will need raffle prize donations. Pip are you still happy to run the raffle?
Food – Jo will organise this but will need some help on the night (volunteers). Jo needs final numbers by end Easter Monday 1st April. Please can you make sure that you have booked with Jo.
Payment – Please pay for your tickets by BACs (preferred) Lloyds Bank, Clee View Bridleways Group, Account Number: 14041868, Sort Code 30-67-88 or let us know if you want to pay by cash on the night.
To make sure the evening is a success we need your help!
