Guildford benefits from its position in the Downs, which provides great walks and views. East of Guildford we have two magnificent walking areas at Newlands Corner with its views to the South, and Pewley Down and the Chantries which offer views to the South and to the North.
West of Guildford the situation is more limited, except for the old trackway, which is an extension to The Mount, running west from the top of the Mount until it meets the A31 Hogs Back Road. It is completely enclosed by ancient hedge lines on both sides having cut throughs to parallel paths to the North and to the South of the track.
The southern path running across the top of what is locally called the South Field, in reality Reservoir, Chalkpit, & Rutherfords Fields is now in danger of being permanently closed, removing access to an admirable view south across the south of England.
The south path follows the hedge line on land owned and farmed by the Loseley Estate. This path has had a chequered history over the decades with access being closed for periods by the estate and available for public use at other periods. These periods have lasted for years.
The Estate has now completely blocked access to the southern path using trees and foliage extracted, see illustration below, from the original ancient hedge which has been used to create a very rough dead hedge at various access points.
Loseley Estate is a commercial farming operation with many other activities. Farming is a difficult, low margin business at present. There are also difficulties when adjacent to towns, where crops can be damaged by users straying from footpaths, allowing pets to wander, and leaving rubbish.
A large group of residents on the north and east of the estate is now engaging with the Loseley Estate to try to come to a solution that opens up the path again in a sustainable manner to the satisfaction of both parties. It is noted that other estates in the area have managed to support public access to their land, for mutual benefit and with little apparent difficulty.
The ideal solution would be for the Estate to agree with Surrey County Council (SCC) using a Section 25 Creation Agreement to make a change to the Definitive Map and Statement of Public Rights of Way to make the Southern Footpath a permanent footpath with a fence on its southern boundary.
At the same time, forms applying for a formal Right of Way are being circulated and completed – the more the better. The difficulty with this second approach is the time frame which would be at least three years. But this is the fallback. If you are interested in supporting the this please download and complete a form which has an supporting map. The form needs to be returned by the 25th April.
The forms can be returned by e-mail to southfieldwalkers@gmail.com or returned to 37 HedgewayGuildford.
For more information please contact southfieldwalkers@gmail.com.
The Guildford Dragon is a good source of news on this campaign one of their articles and an interview on the subject .
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