The Parks Future

Nationally important sites are placed on a list, the ‘schedule’, which gives them legal protection. A schedule has been kept since 1882 of monuments whose preservation is given priority over other land uses.

The current legislation, the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, supports a formal system of ‘Scheduled Monument Consent’ for any work to a designated monument. Scheduling is the only legal protection specifically for archaeological sites, and is applied only to sites of national importance, and even then only if it is the best means of protection.

Only deliberately created (man-made) structures, features and remains can be scheduled. With there being little likelihood of any other kind of activity being allowed in the vicinity of the castle, the future of Clare Castle Country Park seems assured – even after another round of local government reorganisation. Even so, in official circles there is a degree of uncertainty about the future of countryside recreation sites generally.

The great challenge for any country park warden is to balance the needs of the countryside with those of people in search of recreation (picnic, ball games, etc.).

There has to be some degree of compromise in order to ensure that there is no conflict of interests, or, at least if there is, it is kept to a minimum. John Laws, and others that one speaks to feel that, at present, there is just the right balance, with the number of visitors essentially being governed by the size of the car park.

Greater visitor numbers would almost certainly be detrimental to the Park and its wildlife. As John says: “With too many visitors, some rather secluded, biologically important, spots might be irreversibly damaged”. Also, it is worth pointing out that, if there were too many people, then they would be less likely to enjoy themselves. As sociologists tell us, it is a well-known fact that ‘unhappy’ people are more likely to cause trouble. Sometimes Mother Nature, herself, is the cause of trouble, and many will remember the great storm of 1987, which significantly changed the landscape of the Park – with some 150-odd mature trees being lost.

The Park attracts some 150,000 visitors annually, most of them arriving between April and September. An area of the Park is leased to Clare Working Men’s Club, who maintain a clubhouse and bowling green within the area. The lease is administered by Suffolk County Council Property Division.

In 2000, to celebrate the new millennium, the late Mr DeFonblanque gifted a small area of land to the south of the river to the Parish of Clare, and this is now under Country Park management.

At first sight, the position regarding the future of our country park may seem a little tenuous. There is undoubtedly a ‘cloud of uncertainty’ in the air as a result of the impending local government changeover to ‘Unitary Authorities’, something that is due to happen in 2010.

Boundary Changes

At present, the Boundary Committee of the County Council has put forward two models. The preferred option is for two unitary authorities – Ipswich and Felixstowe as one and the remainder of the county, excluding Lowestoft, as the other (Lowestoft would join Great Yarmouth as part of Norfolk which would then become a single authority). The second is for one large unitary authority for the whole of Suffolk, but with Lowestoft still becoming part of Norfolk.

Whatever happens, things will change, and there will be a new body governing the Country Park. The largest ‘dark cloud’ is the fact that there is no statutory duty for the present County Council (and, presumably, any subsequent unitary authority) to actually provide country parks, although they must maintain the footpaths therein. To illustrate this point, it should be noted that some counties have already privatised their country park facilities.

Clare, however, should have an advantage over other parks, because within its boundaries lies the castle – which, crucially, has Ancient Monument status. In all, about one-third of our Park is classified as an ‘ancient monument’, and thus falls under the auspices of English Heritage.As things stand at present, the County Council are custodians for English Heritage (who, themselves, are answerable to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport).

Clare Park The Arrival of the Railway
Clare Park Modern Times
Clare Park Past and Present

CLARE COUNTRY PARK
     - MANAGING THE COUNTRY PARK

By Ian Hornsey