Re: Merstham football field OPEN?

>>Is it a good site to visit?

Hi Alexander,
The sites in question were once all the same site although now two
separate halves.
They are underground stone-quarries, one perhaps dates back to
Elizabethan times, the other is more recent. They are fascinating sites
in many ways, very cavelike and a beautiful site but also prime
examples of the early industrial revolution. There are some old
plateway remains, this was the terminus for the UKs first public
railway (well before steam trains - horse drawn).
There are quite a few other interesting (in an anoraky way) features
all relating to an undocumented part of our history.
There is another similar and much more extensive site close by which I
could show you if you really wanted to see it.

>>What exactly is at stake?
A sad story...
WCMS has looked after these sites for over 30 years and until recently
thought that they had a good relationship with the owners. Sadly the
people with whom we agreed access a long time ago have now either
passed on or are no longer active and we are now dealing with different
members of the family.
Sadly they have found out about us in the wrong way and very much
gotten hold of the wrong end of the stick. They have got it into their
heads that we have done all manner of things wrong, the fact is we
haven't, they just haven't done their homework very well...

A great shame, and a huge loss to both sides. We loose a fantastic site
which we can no longer study, they loose stewardship.
What the owners perhaps did not realise is that the sites have been
looked after by us. On average I would visit these sites every few
months when we had access, I would often take the time to clear away
litter etc accummulated by unauthorised visitors. Over the years this
meant that the sites were generally well looked after and did not get
trashed by kids lighting fires in there (yes one group almost removed
themselves from the gene-pool by building a fire of polythene and bits
of plastic packing!)
Myself and a few others from WCMS cleared the resulting mess away.
Because we did not own these sites we had no rights to lock them. We
would have liked to have done so as is common practise elsewhere,
genuine people have no problems getting into such sites usually just by
asking.

But traffic from all manner of groups into these sites attracted the
wrong sort of attention, further misunderstandings by the owners put
the blame for much of the unauthorised access at our door, even though
none of it had anything to do with us.

As Steve Sanders posted earlier on this thread:
>>>if it's open it will be obvious.. if it's closed it will be obvious.. if there is no fence/gate/signs then i will just walk in

Absolutely, this was the view that many people took and they helped
themselves...
Trouble is we copped the flak for it.
We have a fairly high profile both on the 'net and locally and so we
were easy to spot and go after, a salutory lesson for all!

All this would be a storm in a tea-cup if the owners would leave it and
move on, or at least come and talk to us about it (nicely!). But they
haven't, instead they have thrashed about contacting third parties,
making silly accusations and in the end putting their lawyers onto us.
All to no gain by either side. I do not see what they can hope to
achieve.

We were told to stay off the site, a request since reiterated by their
lawyers. If we were a loose aggregation of Urbexers (no please don't
get out of your cages, this isn't an insult) then we might have been
tempted to a take a 'f**k-you' attitude and carry on anyway.

But we are a fairly well known and large club which has been going for
many years. As well as providing a recreational activity for our
members we are also involved in a great deal of academic research
relating to all undergrund quarrying/mining activities in North Surrey
and beyond. We are members of a number of nationally recognised caving
and mining history groups and have the full weight of the BCA (British
Caving Assoc.) behind us. We have many interests in other sites, all
with properly agreed access arrangements, and so there is too much at
stake here to do anything other than toe the line.

Which we have so far done absolutely to the letter, we have complied
with all requests (however phrased) from the owners insofaras they have
been possible.

We were sitting quietly hoping that the situation will die down and
maybe at some point a dialogue with the owners may be started up. Maybe
not in the near future but it is important that no bridges are burnt.

We cannot guarantee that this approach will work, but we can be
absolutely certain that inflaming the situation further will not have
this effect!!

And so we come back to the original posting...
Either this was posted by someone with access to the WCMS members area,
in which case we are dealing with a bloody idiot and soon to be ex
member,
or it was a non-member who hacked in, or... Personally I am curious and
have my supicions.
But either way it cannot help which is why I jumped on it.

As things stand at present the sites are both physicaly secured by the
owners who locked the only two shafts that they found.
I live very close by and walk through there from time to time, I was
last through there about a month ago and the two locked entrances
appeared to be still secured. All of the entrances are shafts and so
you could not accidentally find yourself in it.

But at the end of the day, anyone who really wanted to could get in.
I cannot guard the entrance, nor is it my place to do so.
I would not advocate entering this site at present, again I cannot
demand this only respectfully request it. But as a consolation...
If anyone has a genuine interest in old underground stone quarries and
wants to see this site then I can offer an alternative close by to
which we have legitimate access.

Andy

.

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