So after last weeks council meeting where we did not get the answer to the one question we asked, we thought we would try our luck at this weeks full council meeting

So off we trotted (No pun intended) to ask the following

How much funding have the council received for the SSSI sites and how was this split between the 3 sites?

After telling us that Parndon Wood is not part of the SSSI sites (It is... as a very quick read of the Natural England citation shows) we were told that they were unable to tell us how much was spent on Parndon Wood Nature Reserve - a fenced of reserve with cafe, toilets, parking, managed walkways for disabled access, and a lookout to name but some of its features - and Risden Woods, where the only sign of recent activity has been the barriers that the council told us 'cost nothing' last week, and that they would 'get back to us'

Our second question asked what changes in terrain had occurred since February that meant they could not make the entrances (which had been suitable for 40 plus years) accessible for people with limited mobility. Their answer - The terrain has improved since the barriers have been installed in February. Guess what, the terrrain in my garden has improved since February - Its called the seasons! And this improvement comes in spite of the fact that their very own volunteer wrote to Your Harlow implying that we have been in the woods because they had found horse droppings. So has it improved because we haven't been in or has it improved even though we have (according to their volunteer) or have they just made it up? I'm confused!! We've asked the council to provide us with the before and after analysis that led to this assessment... as per usual the answer is "We'll get back to you"

I mean, whoever at the council is feeding the councillors these gems really needs to start fact checking a bit more thoroughly... And maybe the councillors should be certain of what they are spouting, before they reel off these nuggets (badly) in a recorded meeting - You just could not make it up.

So now we have 3 unanswered 'We'll get back to you" responses and one promise of a meeting invite, to be received this week. Shockingly, the communication is, as always a big fat zero.

... and all the while our opportunities for summer hacking are diminishing because, contrary to the councils ill informed view, we are much less likely to hack in the winter when the ground is slippery - Horses legs are delicate and breaks can be catastrophic.

We were also fortunate enough to have ITV Anglia come to visit and record a short piece for their evening news. If you would like to watch this, its available here (Credit: ITV Anglia)

We are hoping to have an article in Horse and Hound, who have contacted Natural England and Harlow Council for a statement. It will be interesting to see what they have to say as Harlow Council have, as yet, failed to provide anything to support their statement which says that Natural England have said its not possible to allow horse riding.

We will keep you posted on that.

Have a great evening from all of us on team #saveharlowhacking and dont forget to keep sharing - It would be great to get to 2,000