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OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM THE BEDFORD ESTATE (LANDOWNERS) - The Woburn Sands Bike Park is temporarily closed for approx 3 weeks but we will confirm as soon as we can re-open.

There are no exceptions to this, so please respect this. Note. It's for your own safety due to tree felling activity.

I have dropped a message to Si Patton who is the UK editor for pinkbike alerting him to the issue and linking him to this group.

Ive done some digging in the past half hour on the issue. Whilst I don't ride DJ any more I did environmental studies and sports science to help with my cycling.

In terms of still being able to ride, you guys still have the write to be on the property, just not the area worked on (this should be fenced off or health and safety).

From what i can see the work is being carried out to stop the under cutting of tree's and any possibilities of tree's coming down unplanned.

Once the necessary tree's are fallen and more top soil brought in (the later being advisable) you guys should be allowed to ride and build asap. and your years membership should not dig into the down time caused by maintenance as it was not planned or communicated with yourselves.

Be thankful its done now and gives you ample of time to build some sick new lines for the summer, get your bikes serviced and built up or new ones bought.

Update post meeting with Bedford Estate, Beds. County Council, Greensands Trust, Ian Tunnicliffe & myself.

Summary of meeting;

- Within the next 2-3 weeks all the fallen trees will be removed. A further meeting with then be held on site to discuss how the area is progressed.

- No commercial activities (this includes coaching) will be condoned / authorised by the Bedford Estate and Beds. County Council - this is with immediate effect.

- No vehicles are to be parked in front of the gates opposite the Bike Park entrance and as a minimum we can park in the mini lay-by (approx 10 cars). Please park in the big lay-by further up the road (which the Council kindly funded for us).

- Building of any illegal trails must stop with immediate effect and any current trails / jumps in non-permitted areas will be destroyed.

- Do not ride in the Quarry area- this has undergone replanting and needs sufficient time to flourish and mature. Also expensive deer fencing has been erected and it's vital for the environment that this area is not disturbed.

Other points to mention;

- It was never the intention for the Bedford Estate or Beds. County Council to stop us riding at Woburn. The recent closure has been purely related to the interests of Health & Safety.

- An XC Committee will be formed so both areas are represented properly.

My personal thoughts;

I am actually buzzing like a bee right now, the vibe between all parties at this meeting was both positive and constructive. We do have a future @ Woburn, that's for sure but it relys solely on us (riders) to keep it that way, this means,

- All digging of trails and / or jumps must be controlled through the committee who then will liaise with BE, BCC & GST and seek approval.

I would therefore like to ask that we all continue to respect the closure of the area, this is even more vital now as the BE need to finalise the tree removal operation and interference will only delay this process.

We have an opportunity to make something truly amazing here and I for one feel very confident about the future of the Woburn Biking community.

I really appreciate you all being so understanding and whilst it's early days, I hope we can all pull together and ride again soon.

Further updates will follow ASAP.

Deano.

Update:

Brothers & Sisters,

A further meeting was held on site @ Woburn Sands Bike Park last night between Bedford Estate, Greensands Trust, Ryan Cain and myself.

We are making progress towards the recreation of the area, which I am sure you will all appreciate is going to take time and a lot of effort, but I for one believe this is very achievable.

I would ask that you all continue to respect the closure of the area as we are making great strides in working with the authorities to gain longevity for riders who frequent the park.

I will post again in the next 2 weeks with some more productive news.

Thanks to you all for understanding and being incredibly patient.

Deano.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Please read the following information thoroughly and note that the BIKE PARK AREA IS STILL CLOSED AND AN UPDATE on our new page (see below for details) will be made in the next few days.

First of all, thank you for your restraint and patience over the past 6 months. At last, we’re proud to officially announce the launch of Woburn Bike Trails, a new and totally independent volunteer organisation working in partnership with the Greensand Trust, to help manage, maintain and improve the cycle trails and jump areas in and around Aspley Woods.

To coincide with this launch today two new Facebook pages have been launched together with a website www.woburnbiketrails.co.uk. This current Facebook group whilst it has served its purpose will now be closed for new comments with immediate effect and will be permanently closed within the next week or so. Please visit both the new Facebook pages and like them/follow them. Those of you that have permits (shame on those that don’t) will shortly receive a communication from the Greensand Trust formally introducing the Woburn Bike Trails and Bike Park committees.

The Woburn Bike Park committee is responsible for all matters regarding the jump area including the management, maintenance and rebuilding of all jumps and trails within the bike park and our new Facebook page can be found here https://www.facebook.com/woburnbikepark.

This new page will provide valuable information on whats happening/coming soon. You’ll be able to reach the Woburn Bike Park committee by sending us a personal message through our Facebook page or by visiting the website where you can email us if you prefer.

The Woburn Bike Trails XC committee will be working with the Greensand Trust and councils over the coming weeks and months to formalise plans to improve and maintain the current network of XC trails.

Our new Facebook page can be found here https://www.facebook.com/woburnbiketrails.

Again, the new page will provide valuable information on what's happening right now / coming soon and you can reach the Woburn Bike Park / XC committee by sending us a personal message via our Facebook page or by visiting the website where you can email us if you prefer.

The success of this voluntary venture relies heavily on everybody's support - If you wish to register your interest in becoming directly involved with either group please contact us as previously suggested.

And remember 'It's about the journey, not the speed' - Deano Shimmerman Harris 2014