Getting into a running red mist over Purple Haze

RUNNING early in the morning at this time of the year is simply heavenly.

The New Forest provides a gorgeous haven for any runner complete with undulating trails criss-crossing the thick woodland of common Oak, Ash and Beech trees, nestled alongside open inclosures layered with ferns and thick carpets of purple heather.

New Forest ponies, deer and other wildlife mingle in this picture postcard paradise. With the sun shining, the air still fresh and just the occasional dog walker to contend with, it is the perfect running backdrop.

Sadly, it looks as though much of the forest in this running playground is going to make way for a platoon of monstrous diggers and a procession of exhaust-spewing trucks.

The plan is to dig up a 700,000 square metre chunk of Moors Valley Country Park on the Dorset/Hampshire border to quarry 250,000 tonnes of gravel a year, which would then be turned into landfill.

The country park sits in the heart of Ringwood Forest which is split by a stretch of road between the towns of Ringwood and Verwood known as the B3081.

There is already a landfill site called Blue Haze to the east of the road. Here, the forest provides a gorgeous and tranquil run up towards Verwood, including some challenging hills, until you stumble upon this bleak eyesore, with wind-blown rubbish strewn around the periphery.

One minute, you’re running along soft, rollercoaster, muddied tracks, trying to dodge roots or low-hanging branches, revelling in the sights, smells and freedom of the forest. And the next you stumble upon this bleak and forboding moonscape with emerges from the greenery. It is desecration.

And now the plan is to move over the road to a site known as Purple Haze which is reckoned to cover 157 football pitches of quarry and rubbish in a country park.

Apparently the financial incentive for Hampshire County Council, who want to push forward the plan, is huge – even though the town of Verwood lies in Dorset just hundreds of yards from the edge of the site where it is reckoned the extra 300 lorries a day along the Ringwood Road will see house prices drop between £20,000 to £60,000

Townsfolk have imaginatively tied purple and yellow ribbons to trees along a two-mile stretch along the B3081 to signify how huge the gravel extraction project will be. The ribbons’ colours have faded in the summer sun, but the symbolism is huge all the same.

The county council have literally bulldozed the plan through. They didn’t even consult Verwood residents on their Minerals & Waste strategy, despite the fairly damning consequences of the plan. The next stage is a six-week statutory consultation on the plans in November.

It is a crying shame when so much of this beautiful forest is being taken away for dog walks, cyclists and runners who use the paths around Moors Valley, never mind the impact on wildlife.

Here’s a couple of links: http://no2purplehaze.co.uk/ and www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-13904626