Essex County Council 'working to re-open parts of Olympic bike trail'

Following criticism from cyclists who slammed partial closures and queried if any “Olympic legacy” had been created following the London 2012 Games, council bosses promised the parts of the trail would re-open as soon as possible.

The three “specialist features” have been closed so urgent health and safety risks can be addressed.

A spokesman for Essex County Council said: “We are pleased to confirm the majority of mountain bike trails at Hadleigh Country Park remain open.

“However, three specialist features, including the Leap of Faith, are currently closed for health and safety reasons.

“One section of the blue trail is also closed due to a landslip.”

The spokesman added: “The Hadleigh Country Park team is working to reopen these closed features as quickly as possible.

“As part of an ongoing maintenance programme, the team is also removing overgrown vegetation on the trails, which is partly the result of a particularly wet spring this year.

“Despite the necessary closure of some specialist features, there are still miles of mountain bike and cycle trails for people of all levels and abilities to enjoy at the park.

“Since the 2012 London Olympics, we can assure residents that Essex County Council has carried out repairs and renovations to the trails, and this is an ongoing project.

“A wide-ranging consultation with visitors and Essex residents to help shape the future of Hadleigh Country Park has also been conducted this spring. We look forward to sharing the results of this consultation once they’re available.”

Gap jump - An obstacle facing issues (Image: Martin Baxter)

‘Robo-mower tames trails’

A FREEDOM of information request submitted to Essex County Council has revealed the work done so far this year to deal with issues at the Hadleigh mountain bike trails.

Since January 1, the county council has attempted to tackle issues with overgrown areas of the trial, using herbicide, a robo-mower and doing brush-cutter work to cut back encroachment.

The council made repairs to the gas jump feature on February 13.

And on April 25, for three hours, 26 volunteers and two staff cut back vegetation from the north shore to the dual slalom and the B7 climb.

Four days in May and four days in June saw the deployment of a robotic lawnmower to clear trackside vegetation, covering the trail from the start and finish loop and the red and blue difficulty trails from the rock garden to the breath taker, and the swoopy descent into the technical zone.

The blue trail from the gorse bush descent to the skills area was also covered by the robo-mower. 

June and July has seen brush-cutter work take place on the approach to the Rabbit Hole tunnel, dual pump track and technical rock climb, as well as the rock garden.