Inner London Ramblers - London's Green Chain Walk Blocked

CAMPAIGN TO REOPEN THE GREEN CHAIN WALK AT WOODLANDS FARM

Des Garrahan statement:

'the path across Woodlands Farm is part of the Green Chain Walk, a London strategic walk. It has been persistently blocked since 2007 and all Inner London Ramblers are doing is trying to ensure that all walkers - whether local or visitor, Ramblers member or not - can use the path safe in the knowledge the route will not be obstructed.'

Key Points in Campaign

The Ramblers exist to protect Footpaths and rights of way across Britain - without the Ramblers there would be no where for people to walk in the countryside.
The Green chain walk is one of London's strategic walking routes - this has since 1990 crossed woodlands farm. Hundreds of people walk the Green chain walk every month.
The footpath across Woodlands farm existed before the Green chain walk and we have evidence that it came into being at least from 1972 - this means that the footpath qualifies to become a official right of way.
Once a path is designated as a right of way it is given legal protection.
The alternative path the Woodlands farm is offering is a temporary access path that willl not be protected in future - it could be closed at any time.
The alternative is also not as pleasant as the path already in existence
We believe that the trust is not "community minded" by stopping walkers walking along an established footpath.
There are other solutions to protect the farm against vandalism e.g. building a fence along the existing footpath.
A busy walking route would help the farm not hinder it any vandalism could and would be reported to the police by walkers.
The green chain walk committee has tried to negotiate with the farm for 5 years without progress

LATEST UPDATES ON CAMAPAIGN:

UPDATE 31/03/13 - OLD INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER ARTICLE ON WOODLANDS FARM FOOTPATH RECOVERED

See article from Independent newpaper article dated 19/09/99 confirming Green Chain Walk footpath across Woodlands farm

Independent article

UPDATE MARCH 2013 - 13/03/13

LETTER FROM CHAIR OF INNER LONDON AREA RAMBLERS TO THE EDITOR OF MERCURY (published 26/03/13)

15 March 2013

Dear Editor

Ramblers take on farm in battle over right of way: 13 March 2013

The Green Chain Walk is a well signposted, well loved trail that offers an escape from the hustle and bustle of London life and is popular with locals and visitors alike.

The path in question, which forms part of the Green Chain Walk, was used by the public for decades before it was closed by Woodlands Farm. Over the last few years there have been repeated attempts to negotiate with the Farm to find a suitable solution which would enable people to continue to follow this popular walk but they have been unsuccessful.

This has led to the decision to have the path recognised as a public right of way based on its long use by members of the public. If successful this would mean that the path would once again be open to walkers, be legally protected and would be secure for future generations to use something a temporary alternative path would not achieve.

Woodlands Farm’s suggestion that this process forms an “attack” seems sensationalist and unhelpful and perhaps indicates why it has been so hard to find a joint resolution.

Yours sincerely

Alex Mannings

Chair Inner London Ramblers

This was published in the Mercury on the 26th March 2013 see page 10

11/03/13 ARTICLE IN MERCURY TODAY NEWSPAPER ON FOOTPATH DISPUTE

http://www.mercury-today.co.uk/

http://www.mercury-today.co.uk/News.cfm?id=8623&headline=Ramblers%20take%20on%20farm%20in%20battle%20over%20right%20of%20way

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2013 - REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE OF WALKING GREEN CHAIN WALK AT WOODLAND FARM

Please be aware that a number of walkers have experienced locked gates on the Woodlands Farm section of the Green Chain (Bostall Woods to Oxleas Wood). Details of an alternative route can be downloaded at the bottom of this section.

Despite efforts by representatives of the Green Chain and Bexley Highways to resolve this issue with the Woodlands Farm Trust, this section of the Green Chain Walk has remained blocked to the pubic and what at first was thought to have been a temporary arrangement now appears to have been made permament.

The Ramblers Association have now decided to actively take this issue forward by gathering evidence of historic use of this section of footpath. The section in dispute is along the green line on the pdf map (available to download below), between point “A” and “B”.

If anyone has walked this section of path at any time between 1972 and 1992, and would like to see the path re-opened for public access, please complete the evidence form (available to download below) and return it to the Ramblers Campaign Officer at:

Mr Desmond Garrahan
Ramblers' Campaign Officer
43 Wolsey Drive
Kingston upon Thames
KT2 5DP

Please note: Because the evidence form requires a signed signature, it will need to be posted.

If sufficient witness statements are gathered, a case can then be presented to Bexley Council (the Surveying Authority) and a Modification Order made that would enable this path to be re-opened in recognition of it being an historic right of way.

If you have any further queries regarding the collection of evidence please contact the Ramblers Campaign Officer at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

GC3 Woodlands Farm diversion.pdf
evidence_form_green-chain.pdf

2012 - ARTICLE IN RAMBLERS SOUTH EAST WALKER

The Green Chain Walk is one of those enduring achievements of the much maligned 1970s. Back in 1977 four London boroughs - Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham - joined with the Greater London Council to create an 80km (50 miles) route that linked 300 green spaces in the region. Southwark is also involved these days and the initiative continues to flourish because it sticks to its core principles at the same time as adapting to modern demands.

Walk any part of it today and trust me thousands of Londoners do, and you are just as likely to come across a Green Chain Healthy Walk led by a trained volunteer as a group of Gore-Tex clad ramblers or a local walking their dog. So it's really disappointing to report that the approximately one kilometre stretch that crosses Woodlands Farm at Shooters Hill is now wilfully imassably blocked.

The problem is undeniably a long standing one. For too many years walkers and runners have been putting up with padlocked gates at either end of the route as it traverses Plumstead Common where the large gate was always difficult to clamber over.

One of the Green Chain's undoubted strengths is the ability to follow the route without taking a map along (although it needs to be said that excellent free self guide leaflets are available). The signage is excellent and you quickly get used to spotting it in the near distance and soon you're following it without really looking. It is for this reason though that the blocked portion of the walk has had to be removed from the signage.

To continue the chain analogy – the Green ChainWalk is only as strong as its weakest link and it is important that trust in the whole route is not damaged. Removing this section from the signs is one thing but as well as being marked on Ordnance Survey Explorer map 162, the route appears on A to Z maps (paper and smart phone app), the Collins London atlas and all other maps of London I'm familiar with.

Technically, this part of the route is a permissive path. After years trying to find another solution that is acceptable to everybody, Inner London Ramblers feels it now has no option but to begin the ponderous process of claiming the path as a public right of way and get this stretch of the route included on Bexley's Definitive map. Despite a reputation to the contrary it is rare that we resort to the legal process. Contact has been made with the borough and the Green ChainWalk users group and both are very supportive of this action.

Which brings us to the landowner -Woodlands Farm. It's a trust that receives local authority support and portrays itself as a community farm. Despite accepting the route back in 1977 they now state uneqivocally they don't want the path across the farm. Just how community minded is that? This is a footpath beloved by locals and joggers as well as walkers from across London.

Speaking personally I know this leg of the Green Chain Walk very well - I've led walks along it, have been angered by the obstructions but literally found ways around them and am now outraged by the increasingly selfish actions of the landowner who is depriving members of the public of an excellent walk in south east London.

But fear not because if you share these sentiments – on principle whether you know this stretch of south east London or not; or in practice because you are fed up with the accessibility of this route being slowly eroded over the years by landowners who care little for their neighbours – contact me at either This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via South EastWalker. Even better, if you walked the path over 20 years ago I'm very keen to hear from you.

Des Garrahan (Inner London Ramblers campaigns officer)

Useful Links

See attached link to map of affected area and a way you can walk around the blocked path:

http://www.greenchain.com/Woodlands%20fm%20other%20route.pdf

The Green chain way website:

http://www.greenchain.com/

The Woodlands Farm Trust website:

http://www.thewoodlandsfarmtrust.org/

A picture of the Gate put up by the Woodlandsfarm trust:

Photo: LONDON'S GREEN CHAIN WAY BLOCKED - an update from Des Garrahan (Inner London Areas campaign officer)
The Green Chain Walk is one of those enduring achievements of the much maligned 1970s. Back in 1977 four London boroughs - Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham - joined with the Greater London Council to create an 80km (50 miles) route that linked 300 green spaces in the region. Southwark is also involved these days and the initiative continues to flourish because it sticks to its core principles at the same time as adapting to modern demands.
Walk any part of it today and trust me thousands of Londoners do, and you are just as likely to come across a Green Chain Healthy Walk led by a trained volunteer as a group of Gore-Tex clad ramblers or a local walking their dog. So it's really disappointing to report that the approximately one kilometre stretch that crosses Woodlands Farm at Shooters Hill is now wilfully imassably blocked.
The problem is undeniably a long standing one. For too many years walkers and runners have been putting up with padlocked gates at either end of the route as it traverses Plumstead Common where the large gate was always difficult to clamber over.
One of the Green Chain's undoubted strengths is the ability to follow the route without taking a map along (although it needs to be said that excellent free self guide leaflets are available). The signage is excellent and you quickly get used to spotting it in the near distance and soon you're following it without really looking. It is for this reason though that the blocked portion of the walk has had to be removed from the signage.
To continue the chain analogy – the Green ChainWalk is only as strong as its weakest link and it is important that trust in the whole route is not damaged. Removing this section from the signs is one thing but as well as being marked on Ordnance Survey Explorer map 162, the route appears on A to Z maps (paper and smart phone app), the Collins London atlas and all other maps of London I'm familiar with.
Technically, this part of the route is a permissive path. After years trying to find another solution that is acceptable to everybody, Inner London Ramblers feels it now has no option but to begin the ponderous process of claiming the path as a public right of way and get this stretch of the route included on Bexley's Definitive map. Despite a reputation to the contrary it is rare that we resort to the legal process. Contact has been made with the borough and the Green ChainWalk users group and both are very supportive of this action.
Which brings us to the landowner -Woodlands Farm. It's a trust that receives local authority support and portrays itself as a community farm. Despite accepting the route back in 1977 they now state uneqivocally they don't want the path across the farm. Just how community minded is that? This is a footpath beloved by locals and joggers as well as walkers from across London. You'll find a noticeboard in front of the farm on Shooters Hill but in general the farm doesn't seem very public facing - as of 2 July 2012 their website had just one page. Contrast this to last year when there was a whole raft of pages about open days and education events available.
Speaking personally I know this leg of the Green Chain Walk very well - I've led walks along it, have been angered by the obstructions but literally found ways around them and am now outraged by the increasingly selfish actions of the landowner who is depriving members of the public of an excellent walk in south east London.
But fear not because if you share these sentiments – on principle whether you know this stretch of south east London or not; or in practice because you are fed up with the accessibility of this route being slowly eroded over the years by landowners who care little for their neighbours – contact me at either <a href=

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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