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Interesting piece from today's Evening Echo paper.

Yea I was speaking to Matt from Mud Sweat and Gears (Essex council) and another guy their. On the stand for Hadleigh Farm at the bike show in London

They said 90% of people polled and sent in questionnaires want the track to stay.. even non MTB'ers as well

Well..I think sites like this (and others) ensured a healthy biking response to the questionaires, lets hope it isnt 'tamed down' to much..all it really needs is some of the jagged rocks removing or perhaps some padding put on (similar to trees in DH runs), there are some steep drops (Leap of Faith) that would be great if they stay as they are....actually ideally the Leap of Failth bit could do with joining up with the short unofficial DH run that was there already.

Andy

A more readable version from the Evening Echo website.


A NETWORK of mountain biking tracks, footpaths and bridleways could be created on and around Hadleigh’s Olympic cycling course.

Parts of Hadleigh Country Park are set to be transformed into a haven for outdoor pursuits, under proposals to leave an Olympic legacy behind after London 2012.

Specialist architects, who have designed world-class biking tracks across the world, have been appointed to draw up plans to adapt the park’s challenging circuit for public use.

The move follows a public consultation on the course’s future, which found residents were overwhelmingly in favour of it becoming a public cycling area after it hosts London 2012 races on August 11 and 12.

Essex County Council has contracted architects from Capita Symonds and biking trail specialists Architrail to work with local people to design the facilities.

They are considering creating three beginner, intermediate and expert biking courses, which would be graded in difficulty in a similar way to black, red, and green ski slopes.

All three tracks may cover parts of the Olympic course at points and venture into the surrounding land.

James Daplyn, countryside manager for Capita Symonds, said: “We want to keep the illusion of challenge and excitement, but make the course accessible to people of all abilities.

“There’s no reason why some of the more challenging parts of the course shouldn’t be retained, but we’ll need to make it clear people can opt to try those parts or choose an easier route.

“We hope this will be a legacy for everyone, not just people interested in cycling, but also for things like bird watching, horse riding, running, walking and orienteering.”

The 5km Olympic track has 15 key features, including a steep, rocky drop, called the Leap of Faith, a tunnel, called the Rabbit Hole, a craggy descent, called Deanes Drop, and a long climb called the Breathtaker.

They were named by local schools and could be retained in the new trails, although some will be modified to make them easier.

Phil Saxena, director of Architrail, said: “It will be good for people to be able to ride the actual Olympic course. We want to make sure it’s absolutely safe for everyone because these are Olympic-level features and are too hard for an average or new rider.

“The aim is to make them safe and there will be signs telling people about the different levels of trail difficulty and showing them where to go.”

The park’s wildlife and historical features will be taken into consideration during the planning process to ensure the site’s habitats and heritage are retained.

A planning application for the development is expected to be submitted to Castle Point Council later this year, with the aim of starting work as quickly as possible once the Games are over.

Mr Daplyn added: “We want to capitalise on the excitement and enthusiasm in sport the Olympics will generate.”

Good news.

The legacy plans for cycling at the olympic stadium site have already been scaled back from what was promised.

We live in hope

Any chance MSG could get to use as race site in September?

No chance... Maybe 2013 by the time joe public get a chance to sample the delights of this... Or you just try and sneak onto it......

I had a few goes before the powers that be put up big wooden barriers.

Was quite an amusing day, i met some others and had a ride around and then cycled upto the time to rejoin them, one was waving his arms and said the police are here..so time to make an exit..but my front wheel decided at that moment to have a puncture and go totally flat and I was sliding all over the place..but youll be pleased to know..escaped

Andy