Coppice
 

Nice to see the coppice being re-surfaced as I go up quite a bit and head toward hambledon hill on my runs ! I also use the canal as a route , please be careful in and around the Express Gifts area of the canal .Lots of large Moto X bikers on the spare ground and quite literally 'Flying' up and down the tow path,frightened the wits out of me ! If that wasn't enough rifle shooters on the Tow path bridge at church 'shooting' the 'no shooting sign ' !!! Who said exercise was good for you , Be safe.

Re: Coppice
 

The bikers have been mentioned here before. They ride there a lot

Re: Coppice
 

yes they do but usually the small bikes not the very large Moto X ones its the first time I have seen them huge bikes !

Re: Coppice
 

The improvements over the last few years have been welcome by most. When I was first elected the area was suffering neglect including the allotments and the bowling club was about to close.

We've put in a lot of effort to raise awareness and increase resources over the years and people forget that remarkably we made it disabled accessible.

Re: Coppice
 

I am glad the improvements have been made, it invites people to go up and have a look at the view. In previous years it has been the home of a few undesirables with carrier bags full of cans of beer which used to get thrown when consumed. Now with better access more people are using it.

Re: Coppice
 

Would have been good if you had explained who you meant by we. Without Friends of Arden Hall and the Coppice and other groups I doubt any work would have been done because without the support of community groups HBC have no money to invest in its green spaces.

It's getting harder and harder to find funding and there appears to only be a handful of Officers and Councillors that understand how external funding works. The rest need training so they understand the funder is in control and not council officers when it comes to funding terms, conditions and deadlines.

I must say that the support from HBC parks department to its partner community groups is amazing and envied by groups I have spoken with from other authorities. If the same support and understanding came from other departments we could bring in even more money into our area.

If you are interested to know more give me a call and we can have a chat.

Re: Coppice
 

Neil. I was heavily involved in establishing local groups with an interest in the Copp

Re: Coppice
 

I know you were.

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So even more cans, bottles, crap & detritus?

Re: Coppice
 

I always brought my beer bottles back down with me!. And the occasional ditch water bottle

Re: Coppice
 

Good Lad you! :D

Re: Coppice
 

It's always a possibility, but I have not seen an increase in fact it has become less of a problem, but people will always dump rubbish, I have walked for miles away from the throngs and yet I can always find cans and bottles just thrown away, some even thrown against rocks to break them.

Re: Coppice
 

I think that's Neil's point. That even though you are MP for the area and that you were the ward councillor and leader of the opposition for quite some time, the only way to access the funding is by setting up 'Friends of' groups.

You know that many of the funders will not fund Council projects but will front those projects if a community group is leading it.

There are some officers who understand this and work really well with community groups to source the funding - I'm talking about the parks department now.

But there are other officers who see this way of getting funding as an inconvenience despite it being the only way to get the funding at times. These officers are do not understand the process of funding and at times can be downright obstructive when it comes to bringing money into the area.

Re: Coppice
 

Sorry Neil. That meant to add ... Along with residents and other groups such as Rydings and Memorial. Yourself being a prominent figure both in Ossy and on the Green Spaces Forum...

Both Clare and I recognised the value of an umbrella group to coordinate and bring in funds and IIRC both you and her with Shirley got it off the ground.

We were instrumental in setting two up. The other being East Accrington Neighbourhood Management Board.

Bottom line is it thanks to everyone who got involved...

Re: Coppice
 

Clare was involved at the beginning with Craig, Shirley I think and a few members from local groups. I attended a couple of early meetings but only got more involved a few years ago. As far as I am concerned it's the groups working with the council and other organisations that have the funding successes and not individual people. Different people work on different bids.