EARLIER this year South Downs National Park and Hampshire County Council conducted works over a 10 mile stretch of The Meon Valley disused railway.

A small number of local people were contacted prior to the works for their opinion, but crucially they were not told what the new surface improvements would be, and they trusted the authorities would put down the right one.

What has actually happened is a major change, and not for the better. Mature trees on either side have been uprooted and the track widened from its former 1 to 2m wide to 4m wide.

Drain trenches have been dug either side and deep holes have been left.

The track has been given a camber like a road.

The new surface is recycled ungraded railway ballast containing lumps of metal and debris.

This has proved dangerous uncomfortable, and unusable for all types of users, from horse riders to dog walkers to cyclists to runners and walkers, able and disabled.

A protest group of local people was formed with a Facebook page of nearly 3,000 members, a legal fund was set up and raised £3,000 in one week, a public meeting was held at Wickham Community Centre, a protest march through Wickham took place, and legal counsel’s advice sought, paid for by the fund, which found that the works as they had been carried out were in fact illegal.

The barrister’s report was presented to HCC and SDNP, but they have decided to continue to pretend that the works are fine and everyone likes them.

Cllr Andrew Gibson has actually said he will take no more emails on the subject for 12 months! Is that arrogant or is that arrogant?

SDNP claim they consulted with 600 people prior to the works but when asked under a FOI request to provide evidence of this, they cannot, they say they have lost it. Remind you of the hacking emails?

The protest group grows daily, and as publicity brings more people to the MVRT to see for themselves, more and more people complain about it, they do not like it, and the majority of them now are cyclists.

Cllr Gibson, who is said to be a cyclist, has been challenged to ride the length of the track in the company of a cyclist protester to prove he likes it, but so far he has declined, preferring to stick with ‘I’m wowed by the track’.

PAT STAPLES Woodlands, Clewers Hill, Southampton