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I have some bas news! I went down to Warley Gap jumps and DH runs etc today and to my dismay it has all been levelled!

I was taking my 5 year old some with his spade and broom to teach him the virtues of 'no dig, no ride' and hopefully would meet up with a few of the riders down there as I have been out injured for four months!

I started at the top and it immediately felt different and as I wandered down I barely knew where I was. My heart sank I wandered down the middle line with the long double and long table top at the bottom (which is where I got injured) and all level, just the structural logs to the side was the only clue that there was even a jump there.

I don't know the reasons yet but I do have a contact who knows the owners of the Karting centre and as I understand the woods, so I will try to find out. I am sure that some of you will already know what has happened by I will endeavour to get to the bottom of it and the possible future of the site.

I myself haven't done a huge amount of riding down there as only got back into it all last summer but I was devastated. I can only imagine how the guys that have spent years developing it down there which made it the most fun place to ride for me.

I have taken many pictures of all of the jumps and lines down there over the last 6 months so I will try to post them on here with a few videos.

Only a short while ago Woburn jumps and lines were levelled also as the roots were getting too exposed on the trees etc., so became dangerous. As I understand it that will be built back up again, hopefully Warley will be a similar story.

Sorry to have to post this news

Matt Clover

Warley was leveled about 3 weeks ago. Not sure why our by who. Hopefully there will be s rebuild there too. In most of the woods around Southend area they are copsing ( removing some trees and shrub to let new growth start) maybe it's too do with that?

Ah, maybe. I will hopefully be able to find out exactly why and what the future holds for the owners. Hopefully the green light will be given to rebuild.

To cut a long story short it the owners of the land (not Brentwood karting/golf range/ski slope as they all rent the land) wanted to turn it in to a proper bike park, he had been talking with the guys that dig most over there to set it up as a proper spot like Aston hill/Chickers. He'd asked people not to ride there while he sorted out the insurance issues, he then flattered everything with the intension to start again with smaller and safer stuff all properly built.

Were this leaves Warley? A few of the riders are talking with the land owner to sort out the insurance and turn it in to a club/business but that will need investment which the owner does not sound willing to do at the moment. He wants more family friendly sized stuff which the Warley guys would not be willing to 'just' build (especially if there are no larger stuff that they want to ride). Think they are going to look at other sites as well for more illegal ride sites.

Sounds like a bit of a nightmare! I was gutted to see the jumps and runs gone. It would be easy to make this into a commercial entity as far as restriction of access etc but would be far too tame for the more experienced riders if caught up in insurance and red tape. Thanks for the info.

The owner could of sorted this all out a bit betterly (if thats a real word), going from saying 'please don't rider there' to flattening the site with out warning and then expecting the guys to be on his side and help build it back up and invest their own money back in to it. It's a real shame that it happened but not surprised. As far as i know none of the karting/ski/golf lot had a problem with it or the people down there. If things don't work out i'm sure the lazer tag area will expand in to it =(

My brother in law is best friends with the owner of the Karting etc.. so I will try to get some more info. I compltely agree sounds like a shambles.

Any updates appreciated - sad to see another location hit by the bulldozers

No new info but thought I would put up whats been said on FB page from one of the guys trying to sort everything out
"After several conversations I've finally got a very clear understanding of what the land manager wants. It's not ideal in my mind as it will be a fair amount of work. Anyway here goes…

They want an organisation to come in, finance, setup, manage and cover the liability. They might build an access road to the location and manage the woodland but that will be there involvement done. However, there are conditions; they are really pushing for a 'family' experience. They would like to see the area at the top (next to the car park) developed so that young children can ride there and also less experienced riders. In my mind that is a pump track and skills area. Whilst in the area where the dirt jumps used to be along with Tonka, Ladder and the Tech runs is where we can get things back to what they once were albeit with insurance approval.

So I/we need to get a business plan together and sort out the following so we can go to the land manager with a proposal:

Find out how much rent they want. FYI the forestry commission charge Rogate £5 per day. I don't like that number.
Set up a club most probably as a legal entity
Affiliate with the CTC as their insurance will cover the club, it's activities and riders against any 3rd party liability
Sort out the land owners liability
Get some plans together for the pump track, skills area and trails

All of this will be done in consultation with Ian Warby at the CTC. But bear in mind that he is being made redundant from the CTC at the end of this month. After that he is willing to help but under his new consultancy. So there will probably be a cost involved.

Assuming that everyone is happy with the proposal we will need an army of volunteers and some diggers to get the trails built. These will need to be inspected and a proper management plan put in place (again Ian Warby will help us do this). This means organised dig days, trail inspections etc. Under no circumstances will people be able to just 'build'. Anything new after the initial build will have to be done in consultation etc.

Beyond this we will need to sort signs out and a website with a paypal button to buy passes etc.

Warley will become a pay and play area. Sorry, there is noway to avoid that especially if we have to pay rent and insurance. Typically bike parks charge about £5 to £6 per day of use for non members. Membership on an annual basis falls between £50 and £125. Personally I would want to offer Monthly, Quarterly and Half Yearly options as well. I want to keep costs to riders at a minimum. But to understand that I need to ascertain the costs i.e. rent, insurance, tools, signs, website etc.

Myself and at least one other are prepared to invest some cash in this (in the full knowledge that we will never make any money from it). If any others are prepared to help then please message me with an idea of what you are prepared to stump up. Note that I would expect all monies to be repaid through subs and day passes over the course of time.

Note also that they are courting a Go Ape idea for the land. However, as I understand it that already has permission for the area next to the laser quest centre and not the bit of land that we want. So we will probably lose Sandy Hill but beyond that I am not worried.

I had tried to steer the land manager away from a family area as I don't want the grief or the hassle. One approach I may put forwards is that we do that last once we have some cash in the pot.

If people are happy for me to continue with this then I will. I have already emailed Ian Warby so hope to speak to him next week.

Cheers,

Dan"

Hi Dan

I would like to offer my support to you if required. I am the Head of Design and Development at a local media agency so would be happy to help out with the website etc.. Also happy to help with anything else to get it moving. Feel free to call me if you need 07412 688953 Matt Clover

Thanks Matt. I hope that at some point I will have to call on people to help.

Dan

Hopefully there will be a furture for Warley, keep us updated on whats happening and if anything needs doing. I never rode much down there as everything was a bit big for me but loved throwing in a loop of tech 2 when riding thorndon (even more fun doing it at night with lights)

Hi Dan

Has there been any movement?

Matt

Yo, me and a friend of mine are avid riders and we both own local businesses, i'd be more than happy to enter into talks about what needs to be invested, i'm sure he will as well.

i know its a ball ache for the more experienced riders to be digging what they dont want to ride but if it makes the trail accessible to everyone then it'll need to happen in order to make it a success.

I also have alot of contacts regarding plant hire etc so if the landlord is prepared to build a service road then we can definately bosh up a trail with less man power, maybe even build the service road for him in return for rent relief until the trail is fully operational

Anyway

PM me if interested

Hi Folks,

Our proposal has been well received. Unfortunately because we are not offering a revenue stream, or not a very big one, we are at the end of a long list of people who are. These other people though are not concerned with the land we want rather other parts of the site like the old gym building.

So, talks have gone well and we are just waiting for a few amendments to be agreed and then we should be into getting a lease sorted. Then we need to raise some cash to cover legals, rent, insurance and materials and plant hire etc.

With regards to the trails these will need to be carefully designed and built accordingly. For the insurance they will need to be signed off by a third party. Having said that I expect that what is built will follow similar themes to what we once had.

All help is appreciated and as soon as a lease is agreed we will most likely be asking anyone and everyone if they want to help in some way.

Cheers folks!

Dan