The ironstone mines of the Slipton area comprise Willow Close, Crops Acre, Woodfield and Church mines and hold a great deal of interest to the mining community.
Rich in artefacts such as original miners footprints, miners picks, shovels, etc they are also of immense geological value in that they fit in a knowledge gap as the BGS memoir for sheet 171 (1963) has details for Sudborough, Twywell and Cranford but not in the area between.
Recently I forwarded a package to the Drayton Estate which included details plus all supporting paperwork for 2 robust access schemes based on the British Caving Association Public Liability Scheme.
Option #1 was the ‘standard’ arrangement whereby a group of individuals form an access group and obtain a Certificate of Indemnity in favour of the landowner which guarantees an indemnity up to £250,000 in the event of a successful claim. This is additional to the “Extension to Principals” clause in the insurance policy.
Option #2 was a novel idea whereby the landowners would itself become an “Access Controlling Body” member of the BCA, at a cost of a mere £50 per year. Key holders could of course be delegated.
Both schemes have been rejected by the landowner, and in my opinion the reasons given do not hold water.
The landowners stated intention is now to fit all of the entrances with grills that will comply with the relevant legislation pertinent to bat habitats.
I have seen this situation before and know full well where it going to lead. The same bizarre tug of war between landowners who wish to prevent access and those who turn up in the middle of the night armed with hacksaws, we have all seen this elsewhere in the past.
The whole thing is most unfortunate.
My avatar is a poor likeness.