Access row could hit plans for visitor centre revamp at Hamsterley Forest

AN accesss row in Hamsterley Forest could hinder the planned upgrade of the visitor centre.
People living in the forest say officers did not consult them when a new road was built about four years ago to bypass the old route alongside the visitor centre and cafe which has long been their access.
The old road was then closed off with bollards.
They say Forestry England agreed to upgrade the new road – called The Holdings – leading up their homes if they changed their deeds to remove their right of access on the old road.
If the rights of access are not ceded, it could hinder Forestry England’s plans to upgrade the visitor centre. This is because the visitor centre may expand over the old road.
Frustration mounted this month when only two-thirds of the new road was upgraded. Residents highlighted their concerns during a heated meeting with forestry officers.
Forest director for the north Kevin Richardson said: “We tried to do the right thing by making investment into that road and if that hasn’t worked then I apologise for that.”
Forestry England’s land agent Victoria Lancaster added that there was a “finite amount of money” to spend on the upgrade and what was done was “assessed as the most useful for everybody and the most efficient” .
Spokesman for residents Ben Jermey said the understanding was that the entire length of the road would be improved and Forestry England should have made it clear only part of the road would be done, so that residents could make alternative plans. He added: “We could have taken the contractor aside and said ‘you have been given £20,000 from Forestry England and here is another couple of thousands of pounds on top of that’. We could have paid that separately [to get the rest of the road done].
“The problem you have now is your gesture of goodwill might just backfire on you with some residents. And when we get on to other topics further down the line, you might find the gesture hasn’t stretched far enough to get what you want.”
Another resident told the forest representatives: “You have done a great job of improving the road as you have. But what a lot of people here are really cheesed off with is the lack of communication. You want us to sign over our rights, but it works both ways – talk to us.”
Another point of contention was the introduction of three speedbumps along the upgraded section.
A resident said: “I am really, really incensed about it. We were promised last Tuesday there would be no speedbumps on our road. Personally, I would rather have had our potholes filled than speedbumps.”
However, area manager Richard Gilchrist said the raised portions were “not speedbumps” .
He added: “They are designed to shed the water off the road – we were getting problems with the water further down the road.”