FridgeFreezer Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 There's been a few rumours floating round but we've now had official confirmation - Walters are stopping 4x4 play days indefinitely due to site damage We're busy looking into alternative sites so happy to hear any recommendations. Other than that - thanks to everyone who came to a Shire LRC weekend up there, it was good to see you all! A million years ago! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinkfloyd Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 10 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said: There's been a few rumours floating round but we've now had official confirmation - Walters are stopping 4x4 play days indefinitely due to site damage We're busy looking into alternative sites so happy to hear any recommendations. Other than that - thanks to everyone who came to a Shire LRC weekend up there, it was good to see you all! A million years ago! Just my luck, I was aiming for this year to be my first years attendance 😫. I hope an alternative can be found! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 This is sad news. I hope the land heals quickly and can be open in the future. At least I (and the many people who have been) have many good memories of Seven Sisters. I particularly like the time when I broke my rear propshaft driving up the waterfall (down at the washing machine, which is now closed) and Pieres Buglar said: 'Oh, I saw some prop shafts in the bushes back up at the car park'...........A few hours later I had successfully fitted part of the 'bush shaft' and I was back in 4wd on the Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 Oh no, that's too bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Davies Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 That is a shame, had a few great weekends there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 That's very sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 rubbish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Unfortunately I suspect this is the first of many. Our hobby is becoming more and more frowned upon. I know Walters had the environment agency on their back for years, so I would imagine it's just not viable especially when rally and new vehicle testing doesn't leave the main tracks and pays better. The site will be sorely missed,😭 I've been instrumental in running events up there for over 15 years, we always bent over backwards to keep Walters happy and I love the site. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Site damage? That would be within the former opencast pit with a wind farm in it? Better revenue streams elsewhere with less hassle I suspect. A shame as it’s a nice site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 11 minutes ago, Retroanaconda said: Site damage? That would be within the former opencast pit with a wind farm in it? It is a bit bizarre to be honest, if the environment agency have been pushing them hard on it. I am grateful for the couple of times I've been, my son will be pretty upset, that is absolutely certain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Such a shame... Sure, our vehicles did leave some ruts here and there, and some new trails were made on occasion, but the site seems more than big enough and far from intensively used, so it should be able to recover. Especially, as said, because it's not a natural setting but formed by quarrying, wind farm development etc. And still way more natural and better for biodiversity than fields or worse, a housing/camping project. It will be sorely missed. I also fear, as more and more sites (and lanes) are being closed, as we've seen over here, the pressure on the few remaining will increase and so will the claims of site damage or excessive use. A sad downward spiral. 😞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonimouse Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 To be honest I was expecting this years ago. The site has been trashed, but mostly by competitions. Back in the 90's, I was involved in a large chunk of the land reclamation on the site. As such it's an old friend. It won't take long for the site to recover, but the yoghurt knitters will whinge about loss of habitat and such like. All the while the TPL on the site will go up and up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 It doesn't sound like the environment agency were involved - what they have gotten fed up with is people cutting across the main tracks which erodes the edges or cuts/blocks the drainage ditches, and of course the cost of getting machines up there and reinstating the main tracks vastly outweighs the money they make even from fairly well-attended 4x4 events. So ultimately it's people not following the site rules and f***ing it up for everyone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 A big loss for sure. I am somehow glad I went the last time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Gutted doesn't even begin to cover it. That's knocked the wind out of my sails . I don't hold out much/any hope, but if clubs like Shire can keep asking from time to time, there's always a chance of it being reopened to select groups I'd like to think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 What's a TPL @Nonimouse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Really really sad to hear this, so pleased I managed to get there last year, enjoy what the site had to offer and of course meet some of the forum members.. Best of luck to SLRC in finding a new venue. Unfortunately we are a minority group and do not have the voice other countryside users have, it doesn't help that a small minority will shred these sites with no consideration for future users and at the same time play into the hands of those who want to stop vehicular access in the countryside I genuinely feel for future owners who want to go off road on these shores, I think we have seen the best of it in the years prior to now Regards Stephen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Davies Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 32 minutes ago, landroversforever said: What's a TPL @Nonimouse? Third party liability 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 43 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said: It doesn't sound like the environment agency were involved - what they have gotten fed up with is people cutting across the main tracks which erodes the edges or cuts/blocks the drainage ditches, and of course the cost of getting machines up there and reinstating the main tracks vastly outweighs the money they make even from fairly well-attended 4x4 events. So ultimately it's people not following the site rules and f***ing it up for everyone. Absolutely too bad. Honestly, I just wrote a whole text here about not being aware of such a rule - but obviously it's clearly written on the site map, so that's just my memory. I can only hope we did follow that rule. A big issue with that site, though, is that you can enter a track, not knowing where it will lead. So at some point you might inadvertently end up on the side of a main track, just because there's already a track there. Realistically the only fix for that is to explicitly mark which tracks are ok to use - and that's a ludicrously large job. I hope we can find a different, similar site. It's very much worth coming over for, and in a beautiful area to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claytonv8 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 I've been told it will still be open to trials, just not the big tyre brigade. Either way still a loss in my eyes to our hobby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 43 minutes ago, Claytonv8 said: I've been told it will still be open to trials, just not the big tyre brigade. Either way still a loss in my eyes to our hobby! The murmurings I’d heard recently were more on tyre tread limits rather than an outright closure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claytonv8 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 1 hour ago, landroversforever said: The murmurings I’d heard recently were more on tyre tread limits rather than an outright closure Very similar to what I've heard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonimouse Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 The site belongs to a subsidiary of Walters Mining. They have more big plant than you can shake a stick at. When Walters bought the site, they had a local chap who would oversee the events and there were lots of limitations about what/where/why/when. Then a Challenge was held up there. More money than a pay and play was put into sweaty hands. That one challenge changed the site, trashing certain areas so they were unusable. Greed took over and Rally GB wasn't the only even. Unnecessary super big aggressive tyres became the norm. Large numbers of vehicles on specific areas. High speed driving, with USBA tyres. During this time, the chap who 'kept an eye' got ill and died. Nobody manages the site. No remedial works are done after competitions - to a site that is all reclaimed from a big hole in the ground, simply refilled with loose rock/spoil. I stopped running events up there solely because it was being used for Challenge events and it was making marshalling so much more difficult 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonimouse Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 3 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: It doesn't sound like the environment agency were involved - what they have gotten fed up with is people cutting across the main tracks which erodes the edges or cuts/blocks the drainage ditches, and of course the cost of getting machines up there and reinstating the main tracks vastly outweighs the money they make even from fairly well-attended 4x4 events. So ultimately it's people not following the site rules and f***ing it up for everyone. Only thing NRW (Natural Resources Wales) will be interested in, will be water run off. I would have fenced off the Pond at the bottom of the stepped drain (near the washing Machine) years ago. It's a sedimentation pond that exits in the local water courses. There's another one over by what was 'Hidden Valley' but that has a natural bog at the run off end, then runs into the two lower lakes. There's also another run off on the eastern boundary, but that is mainly off site Why don't Shire talk to the owner of Binegar. There are a number of quarries in that area, suitable to trash to your hearts content. There's one at Vobster, which I believe is just sitting doing sod all and isn't flooded. There's one at Leigh upon Mendip. Taunton 4x4 Club (for popcorn limiters) use another site near Vobster. You might even be able to talk the Burge family into letting you use Lamb Leer at West Harptree. The other option is to talk to quarrying companies. Every site that closes to extraction is still the owners liability. That's not cheap. You might have to re-write your RAMS and maybe run some internal refresher courses, but it's always a possibility 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Unfortunately and I may be speaking out of turn, attitudes like below don't help the situation, you have to go off track to try and cross Just my opinion Regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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