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34 reviews so far

12/05/2012 12:38pm

S.j.c

We are very disappointed with the park management. We understand that you need to find alternative methods for income but WHY persist in using the back fields for car access to the camping areas when the land is water logged make the area virtually unusable by anybody. We also have a suggestion, why don't you put a close mesh on the fence and then when both the areas are not in use they can be used by people for dog training and puppies without the chance of escape? Then that way you are making use of the land for everybody especially the locals who use the park everyday like us. Who just to remind you are local tax payers supporting the parish.

RVCP replie

s

We would like to reassure you that we value your feedback and it does matter to us. Unfortunately, we are now in a different economic climate to a few years ago and have to carefully consider the viability and sustainability of any new schemes/initiatives on the Park but we will consider your proposal.

Access to the Caravan Field is currently through the Overflow Car-Parking Field which is used for car-parking. We have experienced very high rainfall over the last few months and there has been some localised flooding and waterlogging on the back-fields as well as across the site as a whole which has caused a number of problems. We even had waterlogging in Oak BBQ this year creating muddy conditions -first time in 20yrs!! We have already put alot of gravel down on the area but following requests from walkers will put some more gravel down to assist walkers. We are also considering access via Piccadilly Rd but there needs to be some remedial work undertaken first as its too tight for vans to swing into the second field but the Rangers will work on resolving this over the next week. I hope this helps answer your query. The Park Manager is always happy to discuss further via email, phone or face to face .

 

12/05/2012 12:36pm

andrew

althought there has been an unusal amount of rain over the last 5 weeks, the state of the back fields due to the caravans is appalling, the new fence side walk is impossible to walk through this morning, when asking a ranger this morning about possible gravel being put on it they we were told they were not allowed to do this and were feed up with the complaints of the dog walkers, what hope is there. and PLEASE don't copy and paste the normal response on here of there are over 200 Acres to walk in we as regular walkers could show you where the walk's are it is very insulting to us to keep getting the same response. On the weekend noticed that the car park has also now gone up to £1.50 for one hour, so with the disapearing fields and increased charges what next we have to ask ourselves ????

RVCP replies

We have had extremely high rainfall over the last few months with excess water-logging and ponding across the Country Park on fields, access routes, paths etc which is causing problems across the site. We can assure you that the Rangers are allowed to put gravel down on areas which are muddy to improve access and we will put some more gravel down on the path that runs alongside the new fence to the back field to assist walkers and address concerns, particularly at the entrance which is the worst area. We can also assure you that we value all feedback, positive and negative which continuously enables us to improve the Park for everybody to enjoy.

The Park is very expensive to maintain as we have a lot of land and listed buildings which require maintenance, there are roads/paths/benches/signage which all needs to be maintained in good working order. With significant budget cuts to our Park Budget over the last few years due to national cuts in Government spending, we therefore have to operate more efficiently and commercially and all Country Parks across Hampshire are being encouraged to do this. Our daily car-parking charge at just £3 is very cheap and hasn't increased this year. The 1 hourly charge was introduced for the first time last year to benefit dog walkers wanting a short walk around the site or popping into the tea-rooms for a cuppa and has only increased by 50p this year. All car-parking income is reinvested back into the upkeep of the Park and we rely on visitors and locals helping to support the Park financially, without this support, the Park would deteriorate very quickly.

Standards and investment has increased in the Park over the last few years due to the efforts of the small hard-working team of staff, active Friends Group, Park User Group and our many wonderful regular volunteers and the Park has won a number of Awards such as Greenflag which means that it is now one of the best in the UK with high standards, and Quality Badge (quality site for Education/Outdoor Learning).

We have a responsibility to cater for all Park Users and whilst sometimes there may be conflicting issues, we try to work with Groups to overcome these problems through regular meetings like the Park User Group. We hope this has helped to offer you reassurance that your views do matter to us and we are keen to address issues and help wherever we can. The Park Manager is always happy to discuss any concerns relating to the Park over the phone or face to face via appointment.

 

27/04/2012 04:58pm

Regular walker

I have walked in Victoria Park for over 30 years and have always found it to be pleasant and uplifting especially with the sea breeze. However I am becoming most concerned that it is now being turned into a Memorial Garden. I do appreciate that when a loved one dies it can be very sad and obviously a good idea is to have a seat or tree placed in the Park as a memorial to them. However it has become the practice of late to adorn these with wreaths, flowers, balloons photographs, beads and ribbons. In fact there is one at present close to the river frontage that is absolutely covered and there would be no way of sitting on the seat. Would it not be best to advise people when items are donated that they should not be adorned but used for quiet contemplation to think of their loved ones.

RVCP replies

As with other councils, we have for many years operated a Memorial Bench Scheme on the Park which is a popular scheme and provides much needed benches for our public to use across the site, however, we have a clear policy of not allowing customers when they purchase one of our benches to adorn these with any flowers, photographs etc. Our customers are made aware at the time of purchase that the Park is not a cemetery and that we only allow a small plaque on the bench, none on trees, in order to preserve the character of the park as a place of recreation/enjoyment for the public to use. However, despite our policy, sometimes people do still adorn these benches and if we see this we will sensitively remove the items and try and get in touch with the owner. You mention there is a bench which has been adorned along Southampton Water. Thank you for reporting this. We will investigate.

 

13/04/2012 05:58am

G.A.

Having read the reviews of regular dog walkers in the park, I most heartily agree with them. Walking in the park early on a Saturday morning is a nightmare, the fun run people seem to be everywhere, I deliberately went to the back fields and through the woods only to be confronted there. Regarding the new caravan field and the hedge that has been planted, do you realise that when it bushes out, and it will do quite a lot, there will be no room to walk between the caravan field and the edge, why not put the hedge inside the field? If the access for caravans is to be through the back field then some kind of gravel should be put down for caravans to use, after the rain at the weekend all walkers encountered was mud where the field had been churned up by irresponsible drivers. What used to be a very tranquil park, even at the weekend, is now becoming just a money making machine and seems to have lost its way.

RVCP replies

There is a Park Run which runs every Saturday morning for a few hours starting at 9am which follows a 5km course around the park. This is entirely run by volunteers from the community and tries to get people of all ages and abilities involved and helps improves people's physical exercise and fitness. This is entirely free and many people enter and enjoy this event. Please see the Park Run website for further information.

The new hedge around the Caravan Rally field will take many years to establish but once established there will still be adequate space for walking either side. Our Ranger will put down some more gravel in muddy places.

The Park is a significant size - nearly 200acres, most of our high use areas such as the Main Chapel Fields, Sports Field and Back Fields only occupy a small percentage of the park in comparison and there is adequate space to cater for all Users with plenty of quiet walks and areas for relaxation as well as areas for formal/informal recreation. We are now in different economic times where Councils are facing significant cuts to Services and must generate income to invest back into our Parks and Countryside Sites to continue to maintain and improve them. The Park Team care passionately about the Park and have considerable experience in managing the site. We have also secured a number of Awards for the Park over recent years such as the Quality Badge for Outdoor Learning as well as the Green Flag which means that the Park is now one of the best in the UK with high standards of management. We'd like to assure you that we try to carefully balance the commercial needs of the park against the need to preserve the aesthetic and wildlife value of the Park and the needs of the local community.

 

10/04/2012 10:42am

Andrew John

what a dreadful dreadful shame,i have spent my life living in Netley, and walking the park, i came home on Saturday feeling totaly devasted by what the park has been turned into. We were aware of the new caravan field being put in and the Corel affect the new fences were having on the feel of what has always been a lovely natural country park, but hoped that things be handled with some respect for us regular walkers but how dreadfully wrong were we. we arrived saturday lunchtime to walk our dog, and was warned by another regular to be careful in the first back field as drivers into the new caravan field was using the field as a race track with no regard for people,children and dogs.the tracks on monday in the field show that is was also used for doing wheel spins in their cars what a mess has been made of that field, on walking between the fields was stared as as if we shouldn't be there, WE LIVE AND PAY OUR COUNCIL TAX in NETLEY and walk daily in the park. We understand that the park has to find ways of making money, but do it with respect to the place and the local people, why is not Hound Gate being opened to accomodate the carvan's coming in and out a more direct route and not causing a dangerous bottle neck at the junction of Victoria Road?. If a business buys a Caravan park with a public right of way it has to put in the correct facilitys showers toilets elson points for correct number of units you except that you only have a right of way and at busy seasons walking is more of a problem. But this park was for the enjoyment of local people and is a public park not a caravan and tent park. Be Brave and have a public meeting and see what the locals think of what is being done to the park you'd soon find out that the management of this park has distroyed the community feel that was once here, and maybe change it's ways before more weekends are ruined or before someone is either injured or worse killed by the miss use of the Park.

RVCP replies

We are very sorry to hear that you are unhappy about the new Caravan Rally Field and feel that we are not considering the needs of our dog walkers which we can assure you is not the case. We have a wide diversity of different Park Users including the Netley Sailing Club, a Residents Association, Parish Council who all have their own different interests in the park, we meet regularly and work closely with all these groups to maintain effective partnership working, work together to resolve any potential conflicts and improve the park for everyone to enjoy. We also have a dog walker representative at the meetings who is more than happy to raise issues on behalf of any dog walkers and feed back comments. She can leave messages for her via the Park Reception in the Nightingale Shop and she will get back to you.

The back fields as with our main fields have always been available to hire out for events and have in the past on occasion been used for overflow car-parking for major events. At a time of significant budget cuts with whole services provided by the Council under threat, we need to use these fields sustainably but also ensure that we maximise income from these fields to keep the park maintained for the local community to enjoy in the future.

In response to some of the specific questions you've raised. Victoria Rd has always been used as the main park access with Hound Road Access kept as an emergency access and sometimes with parking both sides this would be too narrow for caravan access. We do not have to provide toilets or showers since most vans are equipped with their own and elson points have been installed, however, we may consider investment in such facilities in the future. Walkers are entitled to walk between fields along the wide verges provided and use the caravan rally field when not in use which will only be for a few months of the year. Wooden fencing has been installed by Rangers and Volunteers to resolve potential conflicts between different users which we use on all Country Parks and a native hedge planted around it to provide wildlife habitat/screening. We are not aware of the Caravan Club speeding or using the field as a race track but we will speak to them about this and all Clubs are governed by strict licence agreements setting out rules, responsibilities and codes of conduct whilst they are in the park.

Some of our customers don't realise that the park is a large site with over 200 acres of parkland, woodland and seashore waiting to be explored. We are currently installing a number of trails around the park to encourage users to discover and enjoy the whole of the park which should also help reduce potential conflicts in certain areas.

 

02/04/2012 10:36am

helen

I appreciate the park need to make more money due to budget costs. However the fencing of the new caravan field was not necessary on at least two sides, i.e. the spinney and where there is now a corridor for dog walkers to use. The path through the orchard could of been used while caravanners are in residence and then turn left down the track which brings you up round the back of the cafe. That fence cost could of been saved and put to better use putting in speed bumps down by the water to slow those yacht people down. They might take notice of the speed limit then before a child or dog gets killed by one of them.  

RVCP replies

We have given careful thought to the positioning of the fencing in order to provide a secure area that caravaners can use and in order to minimise any potential conflicts with other users. Fencing was necessary along the area close to the BBQ areas as users can sometimes spill out onto the field from their respective areas which has in the past caused conflicts with people hiring the back field for events. The fencing along the woodland edge was needed to provide a boundary for vehicles accessing from the Overflow Carpark onto the field and again reduce potential conflicts. A large walkway has been left for dog walkers north and south of the fencing linking to the Overflow Carpark field to maintain access when the field is in use. When the field is not in use, dog walkers have full access across this area. We will consider your suggestion of encouraging dog walkers to use the Hamble Rail Trail through the orchard and down to the tea-rooms since this is an excellent route and not particularly well used. We are currently in the process of looking at developing a number of trail routes with better waymarking around the Country Park in order to encourage users to explore the site - few people realise that the park is over 200acres in size so there's plenty of quiet areas and open space to enjoy and discover.

Regarding speeding along the main access road, we have a 10mph speed limit along this route. If you or anyone else sees anyone speeding or driving dangerously in the park, please take their registration number, make of car, description of driver etc. and report it to the Police (101 or 0845 0454545) and to the Park Office immediately We take any speeding offences seriously but can only take action if these vehicles are reported immediately to us. We have a good working relationship with the management of the Sailing Club and other Groups who use the Park who will always tackle any of their members who speed if made aware of the issue. We already have speed bumps in along the main access road.

 

27/03/2012 07:50am

selina

I recently visited the park as a basis to a project for school children. We were given the chance to visit the chapel exhibition and take a tower tour. Our guide was Francis, he was very informative and I enjoyed the whole experience. Thankfully the weather was clear so we were able to see the amazing views that the tower gives you. Thank you very much for helping with our project, and definitely reccommend as visit to all my friends.

 

22/03/2012 06:04am

Katie

After going on the tower tour, I was really pleased with how much I found out about the parks history I didn't know! We had a great time and the staff were extremely helpful, going out of there way to ensure we got as much out of the visit as possible. As primary education students we thought the park would be perfect for our assignment and we were not disappointed!! We will definitely be back especially for the views and friendliness.

 

21/03/2012 11:41am

Rhian Dolby

I visited the park on Mother's day with my family. We really enjoyed our day out and will be back to see you again.  

 

18/03/2012 11:34am

James

I have visited RVCP on numerous occasions over the last 10 or so years and have always enjoyed my time there. In all of those visits, I've never had anything to complain about.

As the Event Director of a local parkrun (www.parkrun.com), I recently had meetings two of the Countryside Rangers to discuss holding a weekly parkrun on a Saturday morning. The response was overwhelmingly positive and within 10 days, we had our first event. It was lovely to run around this beautiful park even on a rainy morning. Many thanks to Nicky, Geoff and the rest of the team for welcoming us with open arms and making the impossible possible in such a short timescale. 161 runners all with positive feedback about their first (of many) parkruns at Royal Victoria Country Park. We hope that the park can continue to be provide an excellent area of the local community (and running community) to spend time.

 

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