Archive

Press statement - April 2003

Witch Wood, a woodland walk which is part owned by Lytham St Annes Civic Society has been closed to the public.. It will re-open as soon as remedial work has been carried out. It is not a public right of way. The Witch Wood walk was created by the Civic Society 28 years ago and opened by Prince Philip. It runs from Ansdell to Lytham and has proved extremely popular. It has always been funded entirely by voluntary contributions. Practical work in the wood and rubbish clearance is carried out by Civic Society members.

Society Chairman Marion Coupe said this week "Work has to be undertaken to make sure the wood is safe. We ask people not to go in at present and we will try and re-open it as soon as possible. Magnificent work has been carried out by our volunteers over the last 28 years, planting trees and bulbs, and sadly, picking up people's rubbish and dog mess. We hope that when the wood reopens everyone will better appreciate what a lovely place it is."

Marion Coupe

Update - August 2003

The closure of Witch Wood at Easter 2003 was the result of an agonising process of investigation into our insurance position. When Witch Wood was acquired, 27 years ago, society was very different, and the wood was not as heavily used as it has been recently. Nowadays, a culture of compensation claims has developed and 'trip hazards' are known to cause problems for local councils. Flagged pavements are being replaced by a dark amalgam all over the town.

The paved path in the wood was put down in certain areas about 12 years ago after pressure from users regarding the boggy state of the paths during wet and winter weather. It has been very successful, and merged quite well into the woodland scene. Lately, the blocks have become displaced by moles and tree roots in many places, and by the heavy machinery brought in when Railtrack and others have had to fell trees and remove logs.

On enquiry to our insurers it appeared that we were not insured relating to accidents on this path if we could not ensure that all hazards were removed as soon as we knew about them. We were inviting the public to use the wood and it is not sufficient to state that we are not liable for any risks, as we have done on the pillars at the entrances to the wood. So, in spite of having public liability cover, as we had thought, of £5m, those who are responsible for the wood were at personal financial risk.

The first step, then, was formally to close the wood. Anyone using it would be, as stated on the signs, trespassing and would be there at their own risk. Obviously this was done with great reluctance, but we should remember that the wood is private property and is there only because of the generosity of a dedicated group of individuals. Over the years they have taken on the task of providing this wonderful and popular amenity for the town by giving freely of their time.

The Society has raised funds for the wood's maintenance and is grateful for the donations which also have been received over the years from those who recognise the efforts that have been made. There have been criticisms in the press of our decision to close the wood by those who clearly do not understand that volunteers who do good for the community should not be put under financial risk.

The woodland walk which was created by our dedicated volunteers over a generation ago is owned only partly by the Civic Society. Much of the area, bordering the railway line and the Lytham Station entrance is rented from Network Rail. The creation of the walk has been a great amenity for the area and we would not want to see the railway land separated from ours. It is not a public right of way.

Our next step was to approach the Lancashire Wildlife Trust which has taken over the role and the quarters previously occupied by the Fylde Borough Council's Adult Training Scheme in St David's Road North. It was agreed that they should lay a trial path in the wood, near the middle bridge, made of a largely re-cycled material called 'top trek'. We have paid them to lay about 100 yards of this and have been monitoring it. They also removed the dangerous steps near the bridge.

The situation was then further complicated by the suggestion that the path could become a public right of way maintainable at the expense of Lancashire County Council. This would provide an excellent solution to our maintenance, risk-assessment, and insurance problems and would safeguard the path for the future. However the officials from the LCC who then visited the wood felt that the 'top trek' path might not be sufficiently robust for them to take on the responsibility of maintenance. They would also wish the hard path to run the whole length of the wood - an idea not favoured by everyone as we like to keep the wood as natural as possible. Another contractor was called in who has since produced a quotation very considerably higher than that of the Wildlife Trust but for a much sturdier path. We are now in discussions with Network Rail over the issue of the public right of way.

We hope that members will now understand that this has not been a simple problem and that the committee have been spending a lot of time trying to find the best solution. It is likely that funding applications may have to be made if we decide to go for an expensive option for the new path, and this will also take time. We hope that progress will have been made by the time of the next newsletter. We will not be responding to any aggressive letters in the local newspaper from people who use the wood but do not support the Society.

We must stress that the woodland itself is in very good order and well maintained. Work has continued on a weekly basis, with several new volunteers, and will resume in the autumn. Nettles and brambles have been cleared to help the growth of small trees. Most dogwalkers are now responsible and take their dog poo home or to a bin, but some have left not only the poo but their polythene bag too. We understand this odd and anti-social behaviour is a national problem.

Lastly, members can be certain of a celebration in the wood when the new path is down, new explanatory signs are up and fencing and gateways are repaired. Everyone will be invited.

Update - September 2003

Work on covering the whole of the paved path with Top Trek is to start on 29th September and is expected to take between three and six weeks. It should then be possible to re-open the wood to the public.

Witch Wood Re-Opened

Update - Newsletter - November 2003

The closure notices in Witch Wood have now been taken down (7th November), and the public can now enter our wood again. A new path has been laid without any raised edges and we have done our very best to ensure the safety those who walk through.

The closure, as members will know, was implemented because of insurance concerns relating to the uneven stone pathway. A number of things have become very clear:

• The closure was a great loss to the community.
• It made people think and not take the wood for granted.
• Signs and general communications with the public about the wood are not good enough.
• Many people wrongly thought the wood was a public right of way, were prepared to tell us so, and continued to walk through it.
• Most people had no idea to whom it belonged.

The next step of our strategy for the wood is to apply for funding to try to put these misapprehensions right i.e. to put up new signs explaining that the wood is operated by a charity and the maintenance work is done by volunteers. It costs money to run and we fail to understand how some (mostly dog) walkers can use the wood on a daily basis and contribute not a penny to its upkeep. There will also be new fencing and gates to try to cut down the numbers of cyclists who ruin the paths. Dog fouling has become an issue in recent years and we hope that if people can understand how conscientiously the wood is cared for they will behave better and clean up after their dogs. .