STATEMENT FROM THE FORESTRY COMMISSION

The Forestry Commission has designated the vast majority of its freehold estates as open access land under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. This secures a right of access on foot to those woodlands where previously only a permissive right existed and permissive rights still exist for cycling and horse-riding in the woods, subject to local restrictions.
Around two thirds of Bourne Wood is designated as open access land, the remainder (mainly down the western side) is land that the Forestry Commission lease for the purposes of growing trees and we are thus unable to designate. Over many decades, public access to Forestry Commission managed woodland has developed on a sporadic, ad hoc basis according to local needs and available funding. This has lead to a vast range of facilities offered around the country, with differing standards of construction and maintenance.
As health, safety and environmental regulations have tightened, and indeed litigation by ordinary members of the public has increased, the Forestry Commission have had to take an increasingly robust, standardised approach to maintenance and inspection of recreation facilities. This has lead to a year on year rise in the costs of maintenance and the time taken for inspections and has corresponded to a time when the financial resources available to the commission have been frozen or declined. One approach to this situation has been to introduce car park charges at more and more sites and a strategy of charging where we provide facilities over and above a basic car park is emerging throughout the Forestry Commission in England as a result.
The current round of recreation facility withdrawals in the area I manage for the Forestry Commission is directly related to these twin issues. The decision that we have had to make is whether to withdraw facilities that are sub-standard and in need of refurbishment reinvestment, or to undertake that capital work and introduce car park charges. At Bourne Wood, the car park and access road are in a fairly good condition but the play area, toilets and surfaces of the way marked trails are in a generally poor or very poor condition. The play area is made from wooden structures which are gradually rotting away, the toilets are out dated and in a very poor condition where it is very difficult for the cleaner to maintain a hygienic facility. From many years of working with Bourne Wood and the Friends of Bourne Wood, the management team here took the decision that withdrawal of the facilities would be preferred to the introduction of car park charging and I am confident that that is a fair reflection. We thus took a decision to remove the way marking, play area and toilets this spring, leaving the rest of the facilities, car park, benches and some directional signs, in situ for the benefit of visitors to enjoy with no charges.
Unfortunately the subject of recreation facilities and the Larkfleet Homes development proposals have become merged in the eyes of many in the community. For that reason I have agreed with national colleagues to defer the removal of the way marking and play area for one-year. The toilets, however, are so poor that we are unable to support their continued operation and so will close. It is worth putting the toilets in context. Out of 15 car parks managed by this team, we only have four toilet blocks, two associated with cafes and pay and display charges and two (Wakerley and Bourne) that are now scheduled to close at free at point of use sites.
So in summary, the decision to close the toilets is based on the current unhygienic substandard nature which is a Health and Safety liability risk to visitors and the commission, and the lack of finance required to replace the structure with a modern fit for purpose facility. In order to keep the site free at point of use, we are thus pressing ahead with the closure of the toilets.

NOTE: This is an extract from an email sent by Kevin G Stannard, the Forest Management Director for Kesteven Forest, on 30th April 2008, to Councillor Mark Horn who was seeking an explanation on behalf of those he represents on Bourne Town Council (Bourne East) and Lincolnshire County Council (Bourne Abbey).