Answers about the fate of Coldblow Woods in Walmer have come with confirmation that a cricket club and running track are planned there.
Ringwould solicitor Nicholas Fielding emailed the Mercury after we published two stories appealing for the owner to get in touch.
He said: “Ringwould Cricket Club is newly formed and has leased the Coldblow land to establish a cricket pitch on it.
“We are repairing the existing fencing around the site to provide a secure and clean area for the club’s intended sporting activities – a cricket pitch and running track.”
Controversy was sparked a month ago after the frequently used woods were sealed off with barbed wire by a cricket club nobody had heard of for decades.
Many readers and walkers claimed the wire is a danger to humans and animals.
The edge of the wood has two rights of way which walkers are allowed to use. Inside the privately owned woods, a well established footpath has existed, arguably for more than 20 years, which locals would have to prove in order to be granted a right of way.
Gordon Sencicle, local footpath officer on behalf of the Ramblers Association, said: “There are no rights of way in the wood, however anyone wishing to make a claim should contact Countryside Access Services at Kent County Council. An officer can then investigate the claim which must be over 20 years use.”
See this week's East Kent Mercury for the full story.