HORSE riders who are campaigning for the right to ride their horses in Risden Woods on the edge of Harlow Council have continued to take their campaign to Harlow Council.

The group attended at a meeting of the Conservative-run Harlow Cabinet to ask a number of questions.

Edmund Wilson to Councillor Nicky Purse (Portfolio Holder for
Sustainability and Environment):

On 5 June 2023 Natural England emailed Harlow Council stating that should
Harlow Council wish to consider horse riding within Harlow Woods it would
“require adequate resource management from the Council”. Please can the
council detail the additional resources and resulting costs that would be required
to permit this activity?

Reply from Councillor Nicky Purse (Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and
Environment):
The Council has arranged a meeting between Council Officers and Natural
England staff for later in September. At this meeting it is expected that advice
will be given regarding what mitigating measures would be required to allow
horse riding in the SSSI whilst protecting the site from further damage caused
by the activity. If any affordable mitigating measures are identified, the Council
will then submit a ‘Notice of proposal to cause, carry out or permit operations
requiring Natural England’s consent on a site of special scientific interest (SSSI)’
to Natural England seeking consent to allow horse riding in the Harlow Woods
SSSI. Natural England has 4 months to consider the proposal and respond
once it has been received.

Edmund Wilson to Councillor Nicky Purse (Portfolio Holder for
Sustainability and Environment):

A recent freedom of information request revealed that Harlow Council asserts to
have 10.75 miles of bridleway (please note that the request was for bridleways
and not PROW). The OS maps do not detail such a network and at least two
stretches listed on OS have been repurposed as cycle paths and no longer
conform to the surface requirements for shared use routes that include horses.
Can the council please explain what consultation took place when these
bridleways were converted to cycle tracks and provide details of where
bridleways that remain suitable for equine activity are located?

Reply from Councillor Nicky Purse (Portfolio Holder for Sustainability and
Environment):
Details on the consultations that took place to convert bridleways to cycle tracks,
and details of where bridleways that remain suitable for equine activity are
located, are not held by Harlow Council. This information should be held by
Essex Highways.