If training is needed, then it’s the longest apprenticeship we’ve ever heard of, so we ask the question, “For what reason was personal knowledge not used?”.

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Dear Robert Ronson, Stephen Rock and Barbara Ronson,

I’m emailing to express my concern at the lack of support for the Friends of Lever Park in their efforts to stop the commercialisation of Lever Park.

Bob Dootson has led a magnificent campaign to try and stop the Go Ape development and he has been very publicly supported by Lindsay Hoyle MP and Ruth Kelly MP. However, grassroots support from local councillors in Horwich, Rivington, Chorley and Adlington has been poor.

Indeed, lack of vigilance by local representative groups (especially Rivington Parish Council, Rivington Heritage Trust and Rivington and Brinscall Advisory Group) allowed the development to proceed when clearly a large majority of people were very much against the development.

Despite providing the local government ombudsman with a dossier of written evidence which provided damning evidence of maladministration by Chorley Council, and which was only countered by evidence even Chorley had to admit was ‘here-say’, it looks like the ombudsman will not hold Chorley to account.

You will be aware the Lever Park was gifted to the people of Bolton by Lord Leverhulme. Although it lies within the boundary of Chorley, most of the visitors are your constituents from Horwich and Chorley.

At the moment, none of the users of Lever Park has any voice in its future.

So I’d like you to contact your colleagues in Rivington, Adlington and Chorley and join forces with the local MPs and start to work together to ensure that the people of Chorley and Bolton have an effective voice in the future development of this peaceful and tranquil area.

Yours sincerely, David Pott

I’ll let you know if they respond. Meanwhile, why don’t you email your councillor, MP or even MEP? Its very easy and its free!

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Although the letter mentions it, I haven’t managed to find anything on the Chorley website that mentions the public consultation. If anyone finds it, please let me know! By the way, the Rivington Conservation Area seems to be just the village, not Lever Park itself.

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UPDATE: Donna Hall has asked all correspondence to be addressed to her (see her comment below).

Donna Hall, Chief executive, Chorley Borough Council, Town hall, Market Street, Chorley. PR7 1DP. Email donna.hall@chorley.gov.uk

Keith Winstanley, Arboricultural Officer, Civic Offices, Union Street, Chorley. PR7 1AL. Email keith.winstanley@chorley.gov.uk

Jane Meek, Corporate Director (Business), Civic Offices, Union Street, Chorley. PR7 1AL. Email jane.meek@chorley.gov.uk

Here’s what Keith Winstanley said in a internal Chorley BC memo on 8th July, just before planning permission was granted:

For such an impressive layout I am pleased that it appears to have such a small arboricultural impact. The fixings for the equipment utilise a tried technique which allows freedom of movement and growth to the trees while offering protection to the wood.

The only trees marked for removal are the three under the zip line, numbered 755, 757 and 758. Of these 755 is in poor condition, with a large cavity in the trunk, 757 is dead, or very nearly so and 758 is small, supressed and leaning.

Due to this, I have no objections to the application.

In your email or letter, you might want to ask what Mr Winstanley’s judgement might have been if he’d known that 13 trees have been felled by Go Ape without planning permission or reference to United Utilities or Chorley. You might also want to point out that no more trees can be felled without planning permission.

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Go Ape's letter in the Chorley Guardian - click to enlarge

Mr Sutherland fails to mention that they removed 13 trees without authorisation.

He refers to no undergrowth. There was until some one removed it.

He says only 3 to 5 trees will be removed to complete the course. Which route are they taking, UP and Down so to miss all the others.

Also they forget to mention that chorley’s Arboricultural officer said in his memo that only three trees would be removed, not the 21 that have already been removed.

Is this the same Mr Sutherland that on the planning application stated that there are no trees and hedges on land adjacent to the proposed development.(section 16 on the Town & Country planning Act application form), can I take the opportunity to remind him that there is a Conservation Area, a Wildlife Sanctuary and the Arboretum.

And lets not forget the 1902 Liverpool Corporation Act.

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Just to let you know that I’ve had no response to my letter to Chorley Borough Council arguing the case over how the Go Ape development could go ahead, given the shoddy nature of the ecology report! Well, I have had replies, but no one has addressed the queries I raised – they are standard answers which I think anyone who has written to the council will have received also.

So no answer to the questions that the trees were not thoroughly enough examined given their capacity to support wildlife, neither was research enough done to find out what wildlife exists, that flowers and birds of note exist in the development area, that the pressure of increased use on the area would be far greater than the report suggests. I could go on and on…

But I won’t, because I think the whole thing hinges on the fact that they have broken the covenant of the 1902 Act.

I love the idea of the high wires, but NOT IN RIVVY!! They could not have chosen a worse place. And how can a new car park be in any way justified? To encourage more cars to use the area and ruin what people come to see is not traffic management! At the moment the chaos that is Rivvy at weekends works out its own solution – people soon learn that they either can’t park there or they come earlier! Its all part of Rivvy’s enduring charm…..

If you want to make your views known you can add a comment to any article, use the forum, or use the ‘Contact’ page, you can even email us at mail@leverpark.co.uk.

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I would like to respond to the recent letters on the subject of Rivington, car parking and the new Go Ape development.

Firstly, I’m lucky enough to live and work in Chorley and Rivington and, like the people who have written to express their concerns, I have no wish to see this beautiful area spoiled.

It is important to look at the facts. Lord Leverhulme bequeathed Lever Park to Liverpool Corporation for the provision of water and the continued free enjoyment of the public. This philosophy is not going to change but it is important to recognise that the park has changed in character over the years to meet the public’s needs.

The fact is that the Lever Park Act 1902 still applies and the public’s needs are currently being articulated by the Friends of Lever Park, not United Utilities.

We now have toilet facilities, a visitor centre, maintained paths and a large car park which is often overwhelmed on a fine weekend.

Lord Levehulme would have recognised the need for all of the above, except perhaps for the large car park. None of them would have caused him to rethink his bequest. Lever Park was very busy in 1902. Nothing has changed except the number of cars.

There are already commercial ventures like the popular café and barn which hosts functions like weddings and barn dances. These facilities are there for those who want to use them and pay for them.

The cafe has been in existence, more or less unchanged since Leverhulme’s time. The barn has been used in its present capacity for decades. Weddings are new, but Leverhulme would have approved, I’m sure. Again, nothing has changes since Leverhulme made his bequest.

The Go Ape venture will be located in the same popular and busy area near the Great House Barn.

I agree the area is busy, which makes it a particularly bad location. Why was it not located in one of United Utilities more remote forests?

Altogether it will occupy less than seven acres of the 800-acre estate. It will have its own small 40-space car park for visitors who will need to pre-book, so there will be no impact on existing parking.

Go Ape have taken over the only plantation of tall, mature conifers in Lever Park. I presume because these trees are tall and straight enough to allow platforms and zip wires. Those seven acres were unique within the 800-acre park, now spoiled by unecessary felling.

A full ecological survey has been carried out and we have been working with Go Ape to make sure that any trees removed are replaced by further planting.

You cannot replace 100 year old trees overnight. Chorley’s own officers consistently advised Chorley council to refuse planning permission.

We understand that not everybody likes change but many people have told us they are looking forward to this exciting new addition to Rivington.

My generous estimate (based on meeting people, the website polls and petitions) is that 25% of people are in favour, and 75% are against. Of the 25% who are in favour, most are not regular users of the park. Remember that if United Utilities proposed a new McDonalds on the site, some people would still be in favour!

United Utilities is committed to protecting the environment, ecology and biodiversity of the land it manages. The results speak for themselves, with our estates being home to some of the last strongholds for endangered species like the hen harrier and red squirrel.

United Utilities make it sound as if Go Ape is of advantage to wildlife. Lets be clear: there are no ecological benefits to Go Ape.

We have won awards for our work with partners like the RSPB, so it would make no sense for us to disregard environmental concerns.

I’m sure they are working with the RSPB elsewhere but in Lever Park United Utilites are not partnering with any outside bodies other than Go Ape.

We are still considering our plans for the main car parking issue and we’re consulting with the Rivington Heritage Trust and the community.

Good, every credit to United Utilities for consulting properly over the car parking issues. If only Go Ape and Chorley council had done a proper consultation back in the summer! However the Rivington Heritage Trust is a non-elected body with no accountability. Most of the people in the trust were appointed by United Utilities.

If charges were implemented, they would be ploughed back into maintaining our estates.

If charges were implemented, there is no guarantee that a penny would be spent within Lever Park. United Utilities estates are huge, and the majority of the money would be spent elsewhere, or simply disappear into United Utilities accounting system to re-appear as shareholder dividends.

Other organisations like national parks and the National Trust have a similar duty to maintain bequeathed estates and they operate a similar system. Those who enjoy walking in the estate will always be free to do so.

United Utilities’ stewardship of Lever Park cannot be compared with the work of the National Trust. United Utilties are a public company with a responsibility to their shareholders. The National Trust is a registered charity with national responsibilities.

We believe our proposals balance the objectives of protecting water quality and the environment, while providing an amenity for people of all ages to enjoy, including the new generation of visitors to the outdoors.

Go Ape is not an amentity to anyone except the well-off. A family of four would have to pay £90 for a session on the Go Ape course. Visitors must be over 10 years old. Go Ape is not family friendly and will not encourage the ordinary families of Bolton and Chorley to visit the area.

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It is important to look at the facts. Lord Leverhulme bequeathed Lever Park to Liverpool Corporation for the provision of water and the continued free enjoyment of the public. This philosophy is not going to change but it is important to recognise that the park has changed in character over the years to meet the public’s needs.

Click the link above to see the full letter. What do you think? Add a comment to this post using the links below.

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WE wish to register our objection to the scarring of the Lever Park, Rivington, by the Go Ape adventure course project

We are at a loss to understand why the application was fast-tracked despite the following:

1. Government guideline instructions as to when fast-tracking is recommended and, more importantly, when it is not allowed.

2. This development does not fall intoChorley Council’s own planning guidelines.

3. In the lead-up to this application being granted, Chorley Council paperwork continually recommended that it be refused.

Why then was it granted by three councillors in a fast-track procedure?

How, despite the numerous pre-application refusals, was the plan then granted permission through delegated powers which precluded the public from getting involved?

The many reasons for our objections cannot now be raised during the planning application stage because Go Ape and United Utilities have cleverly dealt with this by quietly hiding the application in delegated powers.

However we and many other lovers of the Rivington area will not allow this subtle side-stepping of legislation to go un-noticed. Neither will we only talk amongst ourselves about what we see as the injustice of it all.

We intend to make as much noise about this as we can.

We will not go away quietly and think ‘what a shame we didn’t know what was being proposed’ before the planning application was nodded through.

It would be appreciated if Go Ape and Chorley Council would reply to this letter, giving us some reasons for the apparent circumvention of proper planning application rules — as depicted in their own and Governmental documents.

Why, also, has Go Ape or United Utilities found it necessary to fell 21 trees?

We have been told that 18 of them were diseased and required felling.

It seems amazing that those 18 were in direct line of the Go Ape project and none were apparently found to be diseased two yards either side for the whole length of it.

Fourteen of the felled trunks have been removed, despite the Go Ape website seemingly suggesting that felled trees are left to rot away.

Maybe the firms could explain the reason for this?

We further note that the Go Ape course now appears to have breached the conservation area.

We think it all beggars belief!

Mike and Gloria Wayne, Pennine Road, Horwich

Gale Blackburn also writes in Saturday’s Bolton News:

I AM writing regarding the Go Ape development which is currently being built near the Lower Barn at Rivington, and the cutting of, so far, 21 mature trees.

Lever Park is a public park, left in trust to the people of Bolton by Lord Leverhulme, and is managed by United Utilities.

The primary function of Rivington is for public recreation, so how could such a scheme go ahead without public consultation? I was unaware that a private business could operate in a public area.

How will this affect the public use of the footpaths and bridleways? How will the increase in traffic be managed in an already packed area?

I’m all in favour of a development which would bring so much enjoyment, especially to young people, but I think this is in the wrong place, it seems to contravene planning guidance and will impact on wildlife in the area.

Gale Blackburn, Horwich

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