Canda@CSCC wrote:
Following consultations with HSE, Avon Wildlife Trust has gated Browns Folly Mine entrances on their land.
Presumably without consultation with cavers and the local groups that use the mines. Why can't AWT be more like Wiltshire Wildlife Trust? WWF which has consulted over Box and arrived at a solution that is much more likely to succeed because it does its best to address the needs of all interested parties.
AWT is only interested in the wildlife, i.e. the bats. It is a single issue organisation - the clue is in the name. It is failing to appreciate the value of the resource that they manage. The interests of the speleologists, the sports cavers, the historians, the industrial archeologists and geologists, are apparently all being ignored.
On a point of safety, does anyone know if all the gated entrances are now locked?
There was an incident reported to me last week where a group went in the un-padlocked entrance nearest the car park expecting to exit from main entrance. They explored and studied the mine for some hours. When they arrived at the main entrance they found a brand new padlock in place and were forced to return to the first entrance. They did this at some speed, concerned that they were about to be locked in!
The safety issue here is that having timed their trip expecting to exit main entrance they might not have had sufficient light when force to return to the first entrance. Thereby causing a rescue.
If AWT are to put padlocks on, they need to give some thought to:
- Consult with the relevant groups.
- Advertise what is to be done, giving plenty of notice. Signs at all the entrances.
- Lock all the gates, or none.
- Check no one is in the mine before putting the padlocks on.