Environmental group criticises campaigners calling for Cannock Chase roads to be reopened

More than 100 people have joined the group, named Save Cannock Chase, which is calling on Staffordshire County Council to reopen the Chase Road Brocton.

In a response, the council has said the closure is a temporary measure "to reduce the risk of fires in a sensitive area".

The council has also since said that Chase Road is a private vehicular road owned by the county council and that public rights do exist along it in the form of a public bridleway (No 13 Brocton) which allows pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists to use the route.

Now members of the group Sustainability Matters in Stafford, have said they have witnessed a rise in anti-social behaviour on the Chase and said people should support the council in what "needs to be done, both short and long term".

Tony Pearce from Sustainability Matters Stafford said: “I understand it has been difficult for people with Chase Road being closed off, but it is important for everyone to understand the context of why this has been done.

"I also live away from Cannock Chase and enjoy visiting the Chase Road area, but I completely accept the closures, until Staffordshire County Council (SCC) can find a way to better protect this vitally important area.

“On May 30, a local resident decided to patrol the Chase Road area at 9pm and found 30 cars parked up by the ancient oak forest, people having a party with blaring music and setting off fireworks. Had he not spotted this and called the police, who knows what could have happened.

“It is not only the fires we have to be concerned about, it is the rise in antisocial behaviour, we have also had people vandalising bat boxes, swimming in a nature reserve pool where they are trying to reinstate white-clawed crayfish, discarded BBQs, fires on the ground under trees, including one found at the ancient oak forest, limbs hacked off trees to try to burn them, discarded nitrous oxide canisters and aggressive behaviour toward anyone trying to challenge. There have also been numerous other fires on the Chase that were caught in time, which never made social media.

“There have been a spate of illegal raves happening over the Midlands and the North, the 30 car gathering I fear is only a taste of what could happen if the site is opened up without sufficient protection in place.

“All our lives have recently been inconvenienced by Covid-19 and we have all pulled together as a nation. Let us now recognise the huge importance of this last vestige of wild green areas, the largest lowland heathland in central England and again, be prepared to be inconvenienced again to protect the Chase and support the council in doing what needs to be done both short and long term.

“Looking at longer term issues, Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) who are an umbrella organisation for Cannock Chase conservation have plans to possibly close off parts of Chase Road – which is actually classed as a bridleway and not a highway, in the future, but leaving accessible parking at the large car parks at Brocton Coppice and Chase Corner. 50 years ago, it was possible to drive from the Punchbowl and up Sherbrook Valley. No doubt at the time when this was stopped there were people who felt inconvenienced, but can you imagine this happening now?”

“The fact is, our countryside has been decimated, and so the national and international importance of this site cannot be overstated. Cannock Chase is the jewel in Staffordshire’s crown, and should be protected as such, once it’s gone it can never be replaced. We all want to enjoy it for years to come, so lets pull together and give it the protection it deserves.”