POSTERS ARE BEING PULLED DOWN DAILY - SHARE EVERYWHERE

Hello everyone - I need some of you lovelies to fill a form out for me provided by the authorities to describe how you have used the fields, how long for, and how regularly. It's a couple of pages long and serves  to describe how these fields have been used for decades! If anyone would like to fill in a form for me please send me an email at:

Prestburyfields@gmail.com

These will then be submitted with the petition to evidence how the pathways have always been used by so many of us. Thank you all so much! 

PETITION HERE....

We, the undersigned, all call upon the council and necessary authorities, to establish public footpaths and public rights of way around the circumference of Prestbury Fields adjacent to the racecourse, Southam and Prestbury, which have been in continuous use for many decades to which all local residents and users can attest. This petition will form part of the official application to the authorities so that they may have confidence in the number of local users who enjoy this much loved place which is key to the health and wellbeing of so many. 

As residents in Prestbury, Southam, Cheltenham, and Bishops Cleeve, we have walked the circumference of these fields for many years with our children and dogs This has long been one of the area's most popular dog walks, used by hundreds daily. Despite this, there are no official public footpaths or legal rights of way established around the edges of these beloved fields, even though the footpaths are clearly delineated and compacted from many years of use.

In addition, we would raise the issue that the two existing footpaths that do exist across parts of the field are poorly maintained, overgrown, are extremely muddy and in the wetter months completely impassable. The tenant farmer grazes his cattle and at most times a bull or two which is making it an ever more treacherous affair! Between not being blocked by bales or machinery, not getting stuck in the slurry and mud near the gates, and getting through without being chased down by the cattle, it's more of a challenge than a peaceful country walk. Because of this, people use other easier routes through.

Many of us have experienced very vocal and threatening harassment from two or three unhappy locals who resent public access, so much so that many now avoid the area altogether and have to travel further out. We need the public to feel more secure in their right to enjoy this wildlife haven. 

Many local residents in their sixties, seventies and eighties have been enjoying these fields their whole lives, as have their children & grandchildren. The lockdowns of 2020 made us even more thankful for the access to nature and the chance meetings with friends and fellow dog owners that these fields allow us daily, fostering a sense of community and vital to keeping healthy and active.

We must fight to protect access for all who cherish this local amenity. Please sign the petition and share widely to help safeguard these walking routes for all of us and our future generations