Getting things flowing again
We’ve recently had an hour long with Severn Trent Water, after finally getting back in the (virtual) room.
And it was a rather good session.
Right at the end of the working year, as people were counting down to logging off for Christmas, Peak District MTB (PDMTB) Chair Chris Maloney and committee members Greville Kelly and Graham Clark joined a regional manager, a site manager and a ranger from Severn Trent Water (STW) to talk moving things on in the Upper Derwent Valley and beyond.
“Despite some early scene setting and ‘getting to know you’ chat, conversation very, quickly turned to what we all collectively want to achieve, as it always does when you actually get in the room with people!” says Chris Maloney. “You know our aims: improved access around the area, better mountain bike provision, greater understanding of shared aims. Brilliantly, Severn Trent Water were pretty much on the same page and so we moved to very quickly looking at the ‘how’ rather than us being bogged down in the ‘what’. It was really refreshing and satisfying after pushing for the meeting for so long.”
So what did we discuss? Well, firstly we picked up on the ‘conduit’ path; in MTB terms, that track by the aqueduct that goes from the bottom of Potato Alley back to the bottom of the Beast. This has been a target in Project 22% for years and at a previous stage our volunteers helped get it to 95% done and ready to open. We’re now looking forward to making rapid progress on this in the new year – barring any scheduling issues with the Ops team at Severn Trent Water.
Next, Severn Trent were keen to support our aims of connecting up those dead end bridleways – routes that are legally accessible… until they’re not. In the Upper Derwent Valley there are a few of these, and STW are going to line up meeting with us and other landowners in the area; likely Forestry England, the National Trust and STW to talk about how we can start linking the chain of bike access in the Peak District.
We talked about the opportunity for our members to support on volunteering work – something we already do in the Upper Derwent Valley and elsewhere but struggle to facilitate as regularly as we’d like. And finally we talked about a project which has been on the radar for some years, but will need a fair bit of behind the scenes work before we can say more. Apologies for that – but there’s a lot needs to be done before we can say more on that. Exciting though.
Committee members Graham Clark and Greville Kelly reflected on the meeting afterwards.
“I’m really encouraged by the proactive and pragmatic attitude from the team at Severn Trent Water,” says Greville. “We’re looking forward to working with them and the MTB community to develop a host of new opportunities and enhance the trail riding opportunities in a sustainable and manageable way.”
Graham added, “A great end to the year! A really positive conversation with STW. Loads of options on the table, and a willingness to work with us and other landowners to progress MTB opportunities in the Upper Derwent Valley and beyond.”
Keep an eye on our channels for more. Happy Christmas everyone.