Demise of the Sustrans Hartside Milepost???
Couple of days back Rachel texted that the Sustrans milepost at Hartside had disappeared!
For those that aren't aware, it was on the land of the previous owner of Hartside Cafe, Catherine Renwick. How did it get there? Well, some 5 years ago as one of the local volunteer Sustrans Rangers, I kicked off a project to have the milepost moved from its location on the off road C2C track leading to Hartside where hardly anyone saw it, to the roadside at Hartside pass to be in plain view of cyclists, walkers, bikers, cafe visitors etc. Knowing the then owner of the cafe, I asked if it would be ok to site it on her land to which she readily agreed. A group of three volunteers and our Sustrans group coordinator dug a hole and cast a concrete block weighing over half a tonne, the milepost was later attached to it and Ruth & I painted it.
It stood in resplendent glory for over a year until a car slid on the ice (nobody hurt) and snapped it off at the base. I arranged a local welder to go up and repair it, but sadly in the intervening couple of days it was stolen, presumably for scrap. Still kicking myself not to have organised a few folks together to move it out of sight (needs 3 to lift it), but that's water under the bridge. Eventually after over a year's nagging by another local ranger John Bennet, Sustrans came up with a redundant milepost which we installed, but had to have the distance 'ears' remanufactured by the original foundry in Wales - again sorted by John after loads of hassle. The milepost was a different design than the original (there were four designs) and Ruth and I painted that too.
After the fire at Hartside cafe two years ago, after much soul searching Catherine Renwick decided to sell the site. A local lady turned property developer (Sarah) Dawn Dixon has acquired it. At the time I asked Catherine to mention the milepost to new owner and ask on behalf of Sustrans if it could remain; whether this happened I don't know.
But it was there behind the fence erected whilst demolition of the site was in progress - until Rachel noticed it wasn't. I rode up yesterday to see for myself and found it laid in one piece, complete with unearthed concrete block, at the rear of the site! Presumably easier for contractors to lift it complete with concrete with their digger, rather than remove the four mounting bolts and leave the concrete in situ ...
So I'm trying (presently without success, work in progress) to make contact with this new owner Dawn to discuss whether she will be prepared to reinstate the milepost. Reluctant to involve Sustrans unless finances or legal aspects raise their heads, as Sustrans bureaucracy, unlike the old days, will likely stall progress for months!
For those that aren't aware, it was on the land of the previous owner of Hartside Cafe, Catherine Renwick. How did it get there? Well, some 5 years ago as one of the local volunteer Sustrans Rangers, I kicked off a project to have the milepost moved from its location on the off road C2C track leading to Hartside where hardly anyone saw it, to the roadside at Hartside pass to be in plain view of cyclists, walkers, bikers, cafe visitors etc. Knowing the then owner of the cafe, I asked if it would be ok to site it on her land to which she readily agreed. A group of three volunteers and our Sustrans group coordinator dug a hole and cast a concrete block weighing over half a tonne, the milepost was later attached to it and Ruth & I painted it.
It stood in resplendent glory for over a year until a car slid on the ice (nobody hurt) and snapped it off at the base. I arranged a local welder to go up and repair it, but sadly in the intervening couple of days it was stolen, presumably for scrap. Still kicking myself not to have organised a few folks together to move it out of sight (needs 3 to lift it), but that's water under the bridge. Eventually after over a year's nagging by another local ranger John Bennet, Sustrans came up with a redundant milepost which we installed, but had to have the distance 'ears' remanufactured by the original foundry in Wales - again sorted by John after loads of hassle. The milepost was a different design than the original (there were four designs) and Ruth and I painted that too.
After the fire at Hartside cafe two years ago, after much soul searching Catherine Renwick decided to sell the site. A local lady turned property developer (Sarah) Dawn Dixon has acquired it. At the time I asked Catherine to mention the milepost to new owner and ask on behalf of Sustrans if it could remain; whether this happened I don't know.
But it was there behind the fence erected whilst demolition of the site was in progress - until Rachel noticed it wasn't. I rode up yesterday to see for myself and found it laid in one piece, complete with unearthed concrete block, at the rear of the site! Presumably easier for contractors to lift it complete with concrete with their digger, rather than remove the four mounting bolts and leave the concrete in situ ...
So I'm trying (presently without success, work in progress) to make contact with this new owner Dawn to discuss whether she will be prepared to reinstate the milepost. Reluctant to involve Sustrans unless finances or legal aspects raise their heads, as Sustrans bureaucracy, unlike the old days, will likely stall progress for months!
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