Hundreds of people are expected to take part in a protest against the introduction of charges and electronic gates for pedestrians, joggers and cyclists at a mass trespass of Cirencester Park.
According to reports, local people are fighting the charges, the first in 329 years since the landscaped parkland, part of the 6,300-hectare (15,500-acre) Bathurst Estate, was established beside the Cotswolds town.
The Right to Roam campaign is organising the trespass on 17 March – two days after the charges begin – with activities for children and speeches on the Bathurst family’s historic links to the slave trade.
David Watts, who lives nearby and often runs in the park was quoted as saying “Along with many other residents, I am really upset and disappointed about the new access restrictions and pay-walling of Cirencester Park. For many of us, Cecily Hill is not just an entrance to the park but a gateway to thousands of acres of English countryside which have been free to roam for centuries.”
Juliette Morton, who plans to take part in the protest, said: “I lived in a little road at the end of the park and kind of grew up in the park. We had a tiny backyard so the park was where I spent my time – it was our playground, we climbed trees and played around in the stables and outhouses. It was the main green space we had access to as kids in the town.
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With the installation of a ticket booth and electronic gates on the main entrances, visitors must pay £4 to enter the park, with annual passes costing £30. Local people can apply for a photo-card giving them free access for a deposit of £10.
Morton added: “It might sound ridiculous but I know people who live in the town who can’t afford the £10 deposit.”
According to campaigners, the Bathurst Estate has received millions of pounds in farm subsidies in recent years and the family fortunes ultimately rest on the slave trader Benjamin Bathurst, a deputy governor of the East India Company and the Royal Africa Company who purchased Cirencester Park in 1695.
Jon Moses of the Right to Roam campaign said: “In 1695, the 100,000 slaves traded by the Royal African Company paid an appalling price for the purchase of the Bathurst Estate. Their memory should be honoured with reparations, not new commercial ventures aimed at exploiting people going for a walk.
“These cases are an abrupt reminder how badly access reform is needed in England – and how much of the land inequality we confront today is rooted in the immoral acts of our past.”
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
