Apologies if this has been posted before or is in the wrong forum.

I wanted to make sure wikiwirral readers were aware of the damage being done by Cheshire West council at an historic Wirral country lane, and to ask for your support.

Cuckoo Lane is a tranquil bridleway and has been enjoyed by many walkers and riders from across the Wirral peninsular for hundreds of years.

Cheshire council are determined to dump tons of old tarmac road scrapings, which are both unsightly and unfit for purpose, along the whole length of the lane. They also intend to use these to cover an ancient sandstone track and holloway and totally ruin the natural unspoiled character of the lane.

More information can be found here .

Over 600 people have joined a protest group on Facebook and we would be very grateful of your support also. Here's a link to the SAVE CUCKOO LANE Facebook page.

Thanks for your time.

there are signs up on the wirral way for it to be widened in 5 places--my cynical mind was wondering if this was to make money on reduced tipping fees to contractors . Years ago farmers could make a nice sum of money by filling in depressions in there fields by charging contractors less than the normal tip charges. Govt got wind of this and the tipping (landfill) tax suddenly came along--apparently to make contractors/architects try and use excavated material on site landscaping.

The road planings could well be from the company Colas who have contracts with WBC -

Are road planings not fit for purpose for horses? Dont riding schools have cinder areas for teaching?

Could be argued that it opens up the path for wheelchair users and those not so steady on their feet

It's a complex scenario and the true motivations for the council over this are somewhat obscure.

It's some combination of a particular local councilor's pet project to tarmac as many country tracks as she can, an external funding opportunity related to improving access and travel to work areas, and the councils need to show how good they are in relation to the environment and improved disabled access for all things.

There is also a whiff of improved access to a remote field for the installation of two wind turbines about 100 yards or so from the lane going around due to a recent planning application going in.

The council of course are providing all sorts of rubbish arguments which have been shown to be without foundation or any evidence to back them up.

As to the use of plannings for horses - I'm not really sure why as I don't ride, but the riders I have spoken to say their horses just don't like the surface for some reason.

The plannings might make for better disabled access, and this indeed is an argument put forward by the council. Trouble is that the topography of the site with steep slopes in a couple of areas means that it would be still be unsuitable unless these large changes in height were leveled out in some way - wholly wrong for the site and very expensive to implement.

Have a look at the pictures on the facebook site to get a better appreciation of the lane and what's involved plus the pig's ear of the work they have done so far.

Only just seen this and Im horrified. LEAVE IT ALONE !Its a lovely magical old lane which definitely gives you a feeling of history when you walk it . The alterations are just horrible.
If the council are using the excuse that they are opening up paths for the disabled, to prams, etc,if they have the money to do such things, then why the heck dont they start in the more obvious places that actually NEED a better surface?

The pavement between the Aldi Depot at Fiveways towards Heswall, is a disgrace , cerainly not passable to prams and wheelchairs, and on wet days ,only good for a pedestrian with wellies ! What about the park at the end of Flint Meadow that curves round the back of Flint Close - the paths there have never been tended, most of them are just unusable slippery muddy messes and LOTS of people would like to use those paths more, to access the village from the bottom part of the estate.

Loose ashphalt surfaces arent even very good for wheelchairs - have you ever tried wheeling a chair over it or any rubbly type surface - its awful. That 'disabled' excuse needs to be shot down right away.

Where was the link to the petition please? Didnt notice it on the FB page.

So its only good for us mountain bikers?

Please support us.

Thanks for your comments Venice, there is no petition right now but it is one of the options being discussed. The council is having a regroup and rethink at the moment as they were clearly unprepared for any opposition. What they come back with will determine our next actions.

For now, anyone against this unjustified and inappropriate damage to a previously unspoiled country lane can do so by joining the Facebook group and contributing any thoughts or ideas they have.

Hi Bobario, not sure in the end, who it will be good for.

The council seem to have gone into this with precious little thought. They bid for and won a pot of external government funding (Local Sustainable Transport Fund) - the remit for which is to help local people connect to jobs and services. Then they had to spend it somewhere - Cuckoo Lane seems to have been one of the unfortunates that pulled out a short straw.

They have laid a 100m or so stretch of these tarmac plannings so far and whilst it might be able to be used by walkers, road and mountain bike riders (though, it is still designated as a bridleway, so usage rules apply), horse riders and possibly those of more limited mobility - no one that I have spoken to actually enjoys using the type of surface or the desolate, featurless way they have created.

Have you contacted your local MP ?

It must be the Woodpark Farm Turbines. More here. Meeting last July

http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Cheshi...-Woodpark-Farm-Wind-Turbine-Consultation

http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Cheshi...r-centre-opens-at-Nestons-Wood-Park-Farm

This must be the latest.

http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Cheshi...4712-Cuckoo-Lane-in-Little-Neston-Latest

Thanks for the link Granny, they are the turbines in question. This application was withdrawn but I think that they have / are about to resubmit. Personally, I think this is coincidental and the council's motives lay elsewhere.

To be honest though, right now this is of secondary concern and we are busy trying to let as many people as know about the councils ham fisted destruction of Cuckoo Lane as possible so that they have an opportunity to voice their concerned with the council before it is too late.

We are in contact with the local MP, senior council executives and local councilors, but as you know, these people are interested in future votes and retaining power so it's numbers that really count.

We have just under 700 members in the SAVE CUCKOO LANE facebook group right now - I don't know how many we will need to tip the odds in our favour but it will be in four or five rather than three figures.

So have a look at the before and after pictures of what they have to the lane so far (on the facebook page link above), and if you agree with us that what Cheshire West council is doing is ugly, disrespectful of the natural environment, animal and plant habitats and just mindless destruction of an an historic sandstone path that has been used for centuries - then please consider joining the group and registering your objection - unfortunately, you have to have a facebook account but registration is free and pretty easy.

I noticed they were revamping the sunken garden behind the bowling green in Neston . A really radical makeover . Dont know why, because just a few days tidying up was all that was needed. Far better uses for the money , but of course, its nearly the end of the tax year isnt it ! So, that and Cuckoo Lane getting money wasted on them. Anywhere else? I remember a few years ago I heard they spent a fortune making that large scraggy looking layby on the A540 just up from Aldi distribution (alongside the neglected path to Heswall) but ONLY for police vehicles. I have NEVER seen a police vehicle in it, not once, and I use that road all the time.

Who does all that land belong to and how old is Cuckoo Lane?
If its' VERY old (like Viking old)try Professor Harding, Nottingham University. He's the Viking man on Wirral, and comes from Wirral.

Don't want to scaremonger but there wouldn't be anything to do with IGAS would there? That area already has it's license and they certainly won't shout about it when the time comes. Might need the wind turbines for that purpose. Don't know.

Meant to add I dont know much about IGAS - are we talking shale route?

That's a good question and I'm blowed if I know or can find out ref the ownership - I guess it is common land but the bit at the top might belong to the farm which joins onto the A540. It's on the councils "defined map" as a bridleway and as such they have certain minimal obligations with respect to maintenance - they have no "duty" to do what they have done, however - that is beyond maintenance and well into upgrading.

About age - don't know definitely others on the facebook group will know more, but there is a map dated 1788 on which it is clearly marked but it includes a sunken road feature or ‘holloway', which take many, many hundreds of years to form. This plus other features and finds in nearby fields and other tracks have lead historians to suggest that lane has been used for around 700 years or so.

You can see the map plus other images relating to the lane on this little slideshow I put together a week or so back.

Slideshow

ps - thanks for the Viking / Prof Harding tip by the way - will investigate further

What at a pretty place to meander in peace and quiet.

It looks as if it could have been a Roman Road from some of these images.

You need someone on here to tell you. Maybe Archaeo ?

http://slide.ly/embed/7e4ed6dfed50cf196fa5de4b597d8320/autoplay/0

It is indeed Granny, one of the loveliest genuine bridle paths in the area. Thanks for the link to the slideshow, shows it off to its very best, even in the drabness of winter.

As far as horses are concerned, it's really not a nice surface to ride on. The planings give no grip whatsoever so on anything other than a flat stretch of path are dangerous and can lead to horses slipping and riders falling off. If a horse does stumble and go down it will often land on its knees, which on a normal mud path is not a problem, and even on the sandstone would result in just superficial grazing. On the planings you'd almost certainly get some really nasty wounds which would be full of particles of tar-covered stone, most likely resulting in permanent scarring. Also the individual stones which are usually around the size of a small marble are often quite sharp and horses find them uncomfortable to walk on, can get wedged between shoe and hoof, and they can actually damage their feet. All in all, they are neither pleasant nor safe to ride on. Given the number of bridle paths we've already lost to cycle tracks, this is one really don't want to change.

I will certainly be joining the FB group and following the campaign with interest.

Sadly, not if Chester council get there way.

What makes you think it might be Roman?

Hi Cobby, Thanks for that and for joining. Can you do me a favour and repost your comments about the surface over there - many will appreciate your real world experience, not being riders themselves.

Will do - will also post on the main local horsey forum to raise awareness there

Mainly because the Romans used large stones/cobbles to make their roads as are some of those images showing stones/cobbles. Some examples. First two are of the Appian Way, probably one of the oldest roads in Rome

.

not seen anything that would suggest it's a Roman road. The road itself (gut feeling) is almost certainly medieval in date at the earliest, but the surface will have changed considerably overtime, so there's no archaeological impact to asphalting unfortunately.

Thanks very much for your response Archaeo.

Thanks for that and the great pictures. The lane does have sandstone blocks in the floor but in no way are they as uniform and organised as in the Roman road example - so agree there is probably no Roman angle. But there are still numerous other common sense reasons why what Chester West council are doing is just plain wrong.

Anyone with half a brain can see that, but the trouble is we are dealing with the council where sociopaths, pet hobby horses, political correctness and above all greed and money generally drive the agenda.

Thanks for your post over there - sorry they started to drift off topic; hopefully I can bring them back!!