“ I am the project manager for the golf club and would like to take this opportunity to address some of the concerns you have raised. We are meeting council officials next week following which we will meet again with David Lee. David has already given us some good advice on how we should manage the project and we will continue to seek his input.
We very much welcome any input prior to the planning application being made and will continue to liaise with all interested parties, both local and national. Our key priority is to ensure that we do nothing detrimental to the golf course or surrounding area, we recognise it as an area of beauty and we wish to keep it that way.
Regarding some specific points you have raised the situation is as follows;
Access will be made through the farmers field at the north end of the golf course. To gain access to the field lorries will use the current gate situated some 100 yards north of the golf course.
Only the poplar trees are being removed. The hedgerow and other tress alongside the St Albans Road will be untouched. It is worth noting that over the last 3 years 20 tress have been removed either as a result of falling are being cut due to disease. The council has agreed to the felling of the tress as they represent a considerable danger not only to golfers but also to passing motorist. We have noted the comments regarding the type of new tress that are to be planted and will hope to provide David with more information when we next meet.
The new mounds will mainly be several yards from the St Albans Road (on what is currently the rough i.e. areas of longer grass alongside the fairways) and in addition to the new tress and shrubs being planted they will be seeded with grass. We want to ensure that they are finished in such a way as to complement the surrounding countryside.
We have agreed that archaeologists will have full access to the site prior to the commencement of any work. Current thinking from the various groups is that the actual Battle of Barnet took place further north, somewhere in the vicinity of Wrotham Park. Excavations have taken place on the golf course looking for battlefield relics, including one such dig that featured in an episode of Time Team on BBC. To date nothing has been found. Old Fold Manor also counts an archaeologists amongst it's members and he is helping with the project.
The current public rights of way will not be affected, there will be breaks in the mound to allow the current access points to be used.
Finally I would like to add that if anyone wishes to discuss the project further they may contact me via my e mail address. If requested I would be happy to take people on to the golf course to show them where the work will take place. ”