Welcome to our homepage
Who are the friends
Friends
of Holly Hayes Wood are a community group, comprising of local
residents, who aim to set-up a social enterprise business to maintain
and
improve Holly Hayes Wood, Coalville Meadows and Forest Rock Wood. The
group acquired the Holly Hayes Wood and Coalville Meadows sites back in
2008 and intend to acquire the Forest Rock Wood site in the near
future. The
group want the local community to enjoy the meadowland &
woodlands,
be able to show their children the bluebells in the spring and walk
their dogs
safely in the woods for many years to come.
Our purpose is to own, safeguard and improve the areas of Holly Hayes Wood, Coalville Meadows and Forest Rock Wood by demonstrating the value of woodland to the local community and proving the concept of a community owned woodland.
Over time, it is
proposed that the wood will become a forest school and a traditional
woodland both intertwining, with the forest school aiming to teach
young and old about woodlands and, in the longer-term, provide jobs in
the local area which support the objectives of a social enterprise
business.
It may sound a tall order, but it has been done before and we believe if we all work together we can do it here in Whitwick as well.
Background
Letters sent to local residents
Our
project was instigated by North West
Leicestershire District Council
back in 2006, where residents in the Whitwick area were consulted on
proposals to bring Coalville Meadows, Holly Hayes and Forest Rock
Woodlands into community ownership.
The development of the woodland as a social enterprise would be similar
to a very successful venture at Hill
Holt Wood
in Lincolnshire. It was hoped that local residents would want to get
involved in the project aimed at addressing issues such as anti-social
behaviour, litter and tidiness within the woodland.
An
additional benefit would be the provision of an important opportunity
for
working with young people who are excluded or at risk, and for them to
acquire skills- based educational opportunities in areas such as
woodland management and dry stone walling, growth in their social and
personal development and improved prospects of obtaining future
employment.
Focus has therefore turned to establishing the social enterprise business, with the immediate priority being to establish welfare and storage facilities on the sites.
Public Rights of Way
What are public rights of way
England
has about 190,000 km (118,000 miles) of footpaths, bridleways, and
other rights of way. They are the most important way for visitors to
enjoy the countryside, and are also useful for local people to get to
the shops, school and work.
Footpath - open to walkers only, waymarked with a yellow arrow
Bridleway - open to cyclists, horseriders and walkers, waymarked with a blue arrow
Byway
Open to All Traffic (BOAT) - open to all walkers, cyclists, riders
and motor vehicles, waymarked with a red arrow
The
majority of the footpaths in Holly Hayes Wood and Coalville Meadows are
Permissive footpaths. We have started to mark these out with a white
tipped post.
Over time, all footpaths will be marked. In the short-term, please try to keep to the obvious tracks and avoid walking across areas such as the bluebell colony.
