Gorse Covert Mounds –When ‘Big Society’ Turns Into Megalomania

We’ve all heard of Cameron’s ‘Big Society’, it was a key element of the last general election and is essentially a ‘Do-Gooders’ Charter. It encourages the community to get involved in public work, often in place of local authority services that have had to be cut. A noble scheme for certain, it also recognises the significant work done by many previously unappreciated local charities.

We’ve seen many good things to come out of the ‘Big Society’ like local libraries being handed over to local (often retired) volunteers to run rather than just having them closed down. All good stuff, but what happens when these volunteer groups turn into something they were never meant to be, when certain individuals want to make a name for themselves and spoil it for everyone else? Cue the tale of Gorse Covert Mounds.

So What Are ‘Gorse Covert Mounds’?

Gorse Covert is a pleasant housing estate where I’ve lived for over 15 years on the edge of Birchwood in Warrington. The following description of the ‘Mounds’ comes direct from the Woodland Trust’s leaflet on the area.  

Gorse Covert Mounds form a long wooded ridge with superb views to Manchester and the Pennine Hills from Pestfurlong Hill. The area looked very different 100 years ago when it was an expanse of flat bog, often covered with mist.

During the Second World War much of the moss was drained and a huge bomb factory was built on the land. It employed 30,000 workers, mainly women, who produced over a million mines and 500,000 high explosive shells! It was a dangerous place to work with frequent explosions. Many lost limbs and a few their lives. Detonator assembly was particularly risky and the women who did this were known as the Suicide Group.

The Mounds are man-made, created from spoil heaps formed when the bomb factory was demolished in the 1960s. They were landscaped in the 1970s and are now an attractive mixture of woodland, ponds and meadow. In addition, Pestfurlong Moss contains remnants of bog. The varied habitats provide food, shelter and breeding areas for a wealth of plants and animals. 

The Woodland Trust were gifted this land by Warrington New Town Development Corporation with the agreement that it would be held in trust for the benefit of the community and maintained accordingly. Since they took over, very little has been done other than a little coppicing and thinning where the over-growth becomes a real hazard to visitors and neighbouring properties. Some remedial work was done to 'some' of the paths a few years ago when their condition became intolerable but, apart from that, zilch. In other words, the cost to Woodland Trust has been negligible.

So What’s My Beef?

Well to understand that, we need to go back a few years. The story is taken up by a neighbour and good friend of mine who has always used the mounds for exercise and walking their dog. “When I retired I made contact with The Woodland Trust as the area was a disgrace, lots of litter and the like. I asked if they would supply me with a litter picker and some bags. Out of that grew the idea of a small group of fellow dog walkers working together for the good of the area.  We managed to get the benches repaired, and a bench placed at the ponds by nagging and chatting to the bosses at the Woodland Trust” It all sounds good doesn’t it? And it was, improvements were gradually being made by a little gang of friends making a difference!

The Takeover

The Woodland Trust recommended that the dog walkers became an official group, as that permits them to apply for grants to improve the area. This coincided with Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ and the involvement of a local Tory Councillor who needed to raise his profile, coupled with that was the inevitable involvement of the ‘tree hugger brigade’. This little band of do-gooders took over the little band of dog walkers, insisting that they had to have a committee, a constitution and a bank account!

At this point, my friend one of the original instigators resigned, committees and constitutions wasn’t what they intended when they formed their little group, all they wanted to do was keep the area tidy.

The group now has a ‘Management Committee’ with a Chairperson (the Tory Councillor of course), a Secretary, a Treasurer and a Membership ‘Officer’. The Group has a ‘Purpose’ statement “The Group exists to provide a forum for and opportunities for involvement by the local community and organisations, who have an interest in the sustainable management and use of Gorse Covert Mounds. In so doing it aims to enhance the enjoyment, biodiversity, health, safety and education value of an important community resource” – Buzz word city hey? Problem is, it’s alienated the very people whose idea it was in the first place. 

Over Zealous Stupidity

As usual when these groups go all official they get very precious about what they see as their domain and oppose anything and everything they disagree with.  

A couple of years ago some lads built a small camp in the woods , set it up with seats and had some fun, it’s what lads do, it was harmless, and the local police said it was doing no harm, the chairman of the group wasn’t having this though, so he tore it down! Wasn’t it Dale Carnegie who wrote “How To Win Friends and Influence People” obviously this guy has never read that book? The results of his actions were to “piss-off” the original members even more.

A statement in the group’s constitution is the usual politically correct “everyone should have the right to the safe enjoyment of these woodlands that is consistent with these values, regardless of their sex, or sexual orientation, religion, culture, ethnic or racial identity, disability or age”

Good disabled access then will be allowed. Well I walked the mounds this morning and I challenge any disabled person to do the same. They can’t even get through the gate if they’re in a wheelchair. There was originally a perfectly good gate giving access near to the ponds, that was replaced with a metal swing gate that requires a "radar" key to open it, so if you are in a wheelchair or have a child in a buggy and do not have a key, your only way in is to go through the wooded area to the side which is thick with mud. In addition, to enable them to fit the gate they cut away at the slope of the small hill, so now the whole area is a flooded mud bath not only when it rains but through the whole of winter. So whilst saying all the right politically correct things what happens on the ground is something totally different, sounds familiar in the political world doesn’t it?

Destruction not Conservation

As with all tree hugging do-gooder groups, they like to do what they think is best for us. Well this lot have gone well beyond their self-declared remit. Their constitution declares they “will work with others to enrich and protect the woodland and its natural vegetation and wildlife and to encourage activities that are in harmony with nature”. How will they do this? Well destruction of the areas of rhododendrons has been one item, why? What will this really achieve? Rhododendrons are often used extensively as ornamental plants in landscaping; they are used for their structure, size, flowers, and the fact that many of them are evergreen. So a perfect fit you would think? Nope, the group are in the process of ripping them all out.

Just to the right of the main Pestfurlong Hill and before the area of woodland is a flat area, which over years has become dry and fairly flat, it is used by the young kids to play hide and seek, and by dog walkers as a good area for playing catch with their mutts.  It did have young seedling trees growing on it, but the chairman and his gang have cut them down, their intention is to allow it to flood and revert to what it was, a bog, they believe that it is in the area of the oldest bog in the area and therefore it is important for our futures. Utter rubbish, nothing round here was as it was, there are plenty of ponds around the mounds and in winter, off the paths it’s virtually all bog, so we don’t need anymore.

Yes, I admit some improvements have been made in recent years. About 3 years ago they re-topped some paths, but such a poor job was done that they are already breaking down! Blame seems to be being laid at the doors of the contractor however I suspect it should be laid at the door of the specifier.

The chairman is currently moaning about rabbits eating the willow he’s been planting which he wants to grow and sell it. He’s looking at purchasing metal fencing to protect them. So no natural order allowed here, the little bunnies are just doing what bunnies do, stop discriminating against them guys.

At The End of The Day

At the end of the day, this land is not an ancient moss land, it’s all man made, so why treat it like it’s something else. We have Risley Moss down the road if you want special interest.

It’s often said it’s better to do the small things well than the big things badly. This is a case in point. Most of the locals who I speak to just want a nice walk, with good paths, they are not wanting flooded fields and the chopping down of the rhododendron bushes or of nice trees just because they're not indigenous to the area. A quote from a local who uses the area regularly sums it up "Quite frankly, I don't give a toss about the greater crested newt or how invasive the rhododendrons are; I just want somewhere to exercise my dog and meet other like-minded people"

Instead of flooding fields to recreate old bogs sort the drainage across the site out so people can stray off the paths all year round; sort the disabled access out so disabled people can truly use this wonderful asset; don't replace gates that don't need replacing; sort the motor bikers out who wreck the paths riding them. These simple things will all make a bigger difference to the Big Society of Gorse Covert.