Park strife! 500 in mass trespass over entry fees at Lord’s country estate
FOR more than 300 years members of the public have been allowed to roam through an aristocrat’s stunning parkland for free.
But the introduction of charges to access Cirencester Park in Gloucestershire has sparked anger and yesterday resulted in a mass trespass by more than 500 people.
Protesters carrying placards such as ‘right to roam’ and ‘the peasants are revolting’ walked through the main gates chanting: ‘Whose park? Our park.’
They are furious at having to pay £4 for a day pass or a £10 deposit for an entry card available to local residents when the Cotswolds gem has always been open for anyone to wander through as open countryside.
Lord Bathurst insists the charges introduced this month are needed to cover the upkeep of the 3,000acre estate, which has been owned by his family since 1695.
Defending the move as he watched the protesters, he said: ‘People don’t like change, I don’t like change, but unfortunately to keep the park running we have to have some change in here.
‘It has changed enormously over the last 20 to 30 years and it will continue to evolve. People might find it unpopular to charge people for coming in, but for local people it is still free to come in – they can pay a £10 deposit.’
But the aristocrat’s stance didn’t go down well with the protesters. Local resident Spike Collett, 69, said: ‘It is all money grabbing. Why should anyone have to pay to get in here?
‘I have lived here all my life. I have been coming here all my life. There are a lot of people upset about it. People come to the town to spend their money but they might no longer come if they have to pay to enter the park.’
David Watts, who regularly uses the park for exercise, said locals ‘just want to walk in the countryside free of charge’. He added: ‘Some people say it’s reasonable and it’s not a lot of money. Well for me, it’s not really about money. It’s about the freedom to walk in the countryside.’
Ali North, 33, who travelled from Swindon and was waving a ‘right to roam’ placard, said access to nature is ‘more critical’ than ever, and that the ‘introduction of barriers’ may be seen as a ‘step backwards’.
Catherine Forrester, 37, and Tom Jones, 41, have been regular visitors with son Rowan, four, and yesterday brought ten-week-old baby Rosa for her first trip.
‘They have owned the park for hundreds of years and promised people access to it,’ said Mr Jones. ‘They don’t see investment in a park for people to enjoy being worth spending money on.’
The Bathurst Estate is said to own assets worth more than £42 million. The Right to Roam campaign, which organised yesterday’s mass trespass, said the land was bought with profits from the slave trade and ancestors should not now profit from it.
‘It’s all money grabbing’