Dave Turnbull: 'rockclimbing needn't be a problem'
The British Mountaineering Council said it will draw up a landscape charter to guide its representatives on how to deal with developments in the few remaining wild places in England and Wales.
The BMC’s chief executive Dave Turnbull outlined the plan at the weekend gathering during the Kendal Mountain Festival.
It area committees will use the document in the light of a similar policy manifesto published by its sister organisation the Mountaineering Council of Scotland for protecting wild landscapes north of the border, which the BMC supported.
The BMC boss said the organisation will also make sure the voice of recreational users of the countryside is heard during an upcoming review of the future of Natural England, the Westminster Government’s advisory body on the outdoors in England.
The Manchester-based BMC, which represents climbers, mountaineers and hillwalkers in England and Wales, will also continue lobbying through the All Party Parliamentary Mountaineering Group, and will continue to support the Outdoor Industries Association Britain on Foot campaign.
A major focus will be on stepping up work for young outdoors enthusiasts – the 18- to 25-year-olds – including the recruitment of young ambassadors to be the BMC’s public face for younger members.
The BMC office in Manchester
Mr Turnbull said the council would also be looking at encouraging the use of disused quarries as climbing venues when their mineral use ends.
He said: “Dr Cath Flitcroft from our access and conservation team organised a hugely successful conference on occupiers’ liability and a booklet to explain why rockclimbing needn’t be a problem for landowners. We’re planning a similar publication for walking in 2013.
“We’ve been campaigning on the future of Stanage, whose management could change hands in 2013 and representing the interests of climbers and hillwalkers at the Roaches, recently taken over by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.”
The BMC was also working on dealing with implications of the Chalara outbreak which threatens Britain’s ash trees. “The crisis with ash dieback has kept us busy,” he said. “We’re monitoring our crag at Horseshoe Quarry, which has many ash trees. We’re also beginning a 15-year woodland management plan at Harrison’s Rocks in Sussex.”
He remembered with sadness the loss of one of his predecessors in an avalanche on Mont Maudit in the Alps.
He said: “The death of former BMC general secretary Roger Payne was a great tragedy and he will be sorely missed by the organisation.
“We hosted a memorial evening for Roger at Manchester Town Hall, where his widow Julie-Ann Clyma gave a moving address.”
The BMC is looking at securing future funding from Sport England, as the number of climbers and hillwalkers increases. It said it expects its funding to increase in the next four years.
