Wellington College bans public from woodland and heathland enjoyed by residents of Sandhurst and Crowthorne for decades.

Wellington College is claiming new OFSTED rules are forcing it to close access to an area of heathland and woodland it owns adjacent to the main school grounds and the Sandhurst-Crowthorne road because of child protection issues. The area which is crossed by a public bridleway includes areas of open heathland, marsh and deciduous and evergreen woods. It has been used for decades by residents of Little Sandhurst and Crowthorne for rambling, dog walking, family walks and jogging. The College says that the public must now stick to the bridleway, and cannot even let dogs of their leads whilst walking along it. I have regularly seen all ages of dog walkers in this area and it now means pensioners and children will be forced to cross the busy Crowthorne-Sandhurst road if they want to let their dogs run free, a road that lacks any pedestrian crossing where the bridleway emerges.

One has to question the wisdom of this move. The area will not be fenced off and will require constant policing to ensure the public do not access it. Currently, regular users of the area actually help to persevere it by watching for people illegally riding motorbikes, clearing litter and reporting fires to the fire brigade. This is a particularly important aspect given the stretch of power lines running across the land. The area is also largely separated from the main school grounds by a fenced off golf course and short stretch of woodland and gated path.

Wellington College will still allow the public to walk along its main driveway called the Kilometre to allow access from Crowthorne village to the railway station. However, they have also stated that nobody is permitted to leave the driveway which considerably lengthens the walk to the Sports Centre that the College actively encourages the public to join.

The College seems to pride itself on engaging with the local community encouraging us to attend events such as its fireworks display and concerts as well promoting membership of the Sports Centre. However, the introduction of these new access restrictions to areas that the public have enjoyed for decades are starting to generate a backlash in the community, and at least one petition is already gathering signatures.