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Now for some good news


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As a result of contact via 'The Bramblers'and a subsequent successful meeting we have received the following statement.

 

quote:

Hampshire County Council

 

Statement on Geocaching

 

18th March 2003

 

Hampshire County Council Recreation and Heritage Department fully acknowledges the contribution that Geocaching can make in getting families and others to enjoy the benefits of the countryside, and as a valuable educational resource.

 

Therefore as land managers of public open spaces, nature reserves and as managers of scheduled ancient monuments, are taking the positive step of drawing up guidelines for the benefit of all.

 

David Plunton

Countryside Ranger

Hampshire County Council


 

We will update you with more information as it becomes available.

 

Tim & June (Winchester)

UK Admin

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Whoo- Hoo!

 

Well done The Bramblers, and well done T&J.

 

Fantastic... although it does mean that the last hour I've spent prepping a letter to HCC about placing a cache in Hook woods is out of the window... but in the face of these circumstances, I couldn't care less!

 

Well done all! icon_biggrin.gif

 

------

An it harm none, do what ye will

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quote:
Originally posted by The Wombles:

Hopefully this will be the model for others. Many, many thanks to all involved.

 

Can we please, please, please have a committment from everyone who will use this approval that they will follow the guidelines?

 

Dave


 

We are given to understand that many other local authorities follow the lead set by Hampshire so following the guidelines will be critical. If we can demonstrate that we are responsible in our use of the countryside, hopefully HCC will recommend us.

 

June and I also thank "The Bramblers" for their commitment to the pastime. Their help was certainly a very major contribution.

 

Tim & June (Winchester)

 

See June, I told you that sign which said 'Unsuitable for Motor Vehicles' was wrong ! icon_smile.gif

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This is excellent news. I am not the kind of person to get excited, icon_biggrin.gif, but this is a really positive step forward in the pastime we all love.

 

Well done to the Bramblers and T & J.

 

Andy.

 

----------------------------------------

All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike-and yet it is the most precious thing we have - Albert Einstein

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Although implied, no-one else has actually said it yet for those in high office who might be watching.

 

So let me be absolutely plain and simple. Let there be no doubt in anyone's mind about what I am saying here.

 

Yes, MCL will follow the guidelines. (Probably already does...)

 

Phew! Thats it. I've said it now. If anyone does not understand this, then would they please email me via the GC website for clarification. Now, I will happily take any questions from the audience...yes, the lady in the third row in the goat's-vomit green....

 

No trees were harmed during the production of this posting, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced....

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That's fantastic news.

 

Hopefully it will give other landowners less reason to say no through ignorance. It should also help with others because it's sometimes easier to say no than to make a balanced judgement, with a recognised authority saying yes they will have reason to look into Geocaching more fully.

 

Thanks for all your hard work with this and Geocaching in general.

 

Dave

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Thi sets a really great precedent and example - well done to all involved.

 

Some thoughts:

1. Not everyone views the forums - whatever is in the guidelines needs to be available to all cache users. So we need a way that every cache user can see the guidelines - I Suggest one or all of the following:

i. An enhanced "Congratulations you've found it" note which includes the guidelines.

ii. A link on each relevant cache page to the guidelines.

iii. A link that appears on all UK pages automatically (similar to the way adverts work for UK pages).

 

2. It looks like a lot of work has gone into the initial contacts and subsequent work. It would be nice if those involved could detail what they did, who they contacted etc. So that the experience can be spread amongst us.

 

oh and....

Hurrah!!!!

Chris

 

Bear rescues a speciality!

London & UK Geocaching Resources: http://www.sheps.clara.net

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Chris n Maria have brought up a good point and it is one we have already in hand (but thanks for your thoughts).

 

We are waiting for a few more details before contacting Jeremy regarding the inclusion of UK cache guidelines on the site. Hopefully this will be very soon so that he can make provision for it during his re-work of the site which is currently under way.

 

As far as how did we go about this, well,,, it's a long story but briefly, in some cases we have been contacted because we have been seen as part of the UK admin, and in other cases we have made contact through people we know or have met. In yet other cases we have been given information which we can use to contact the right person directly. We never have and never will make a "cold call" on somebody in an attempt to get some sort of governing decision. That is when you will get a no answer.

 

At this stage, we have a positive result from HCC and we are led to believe that other County Councils watch them and are very likely to follow their lead. Once a precedent is set, and HCC can see that we are using the countryside responsibly, we will be able to get referalls to other councils, unless of course, they contact us first.

 

As this is the first official recognition of caching in the UK, might I suggest that we gain a firm foothold on this one before we move on to other land managers because it would be a shame to set a "NO" precedent elsewhere and loose an opportunity.

 

If there are any objections, please let us know.

 

Tim & June (Winchester)

 

See June, I told you that sign which said 'Unsuitable for Motor Vehicles' was wrong ! icon_smile.gif

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We have had a reply from Jeremy about the UK specific guidelines as follows :

 

quote:

We'll try to address regional requirements, laws, regulations, etc. in the new release of the site. It may not be one of the first items to add to the site.


 

If this is not ready, and I suspect it won't be, by the time we have the guidelines sorted, We could ask cachers to put a link to them on their cache page on a voluntary basis. I'm sure most would be happy to do so.

 

But let's see what happens.

 

Tim & June (Winchester)

 

See June, I told you that sign which said 'Unsuitable for Motor Vehicles' was wrong ! icon_smile.gif

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HCC Update

 

Today we recieved a couple of phone calls from HCC.

 

They seem to be very excited and have even suggested that they might be able to send a representative along to the Richard & Judy show to emphasise the positive and educational aspect of caching.

 

Things are progressing very well, (and surprisingly quickly for a local authority) and it looks like we are on the home straight. Let's not count our chickens before they have hatched though, we have not won yet.

 

From this it looks as though the guidelines which they draw up will be shown to another council by another contact. Sorry I cannot say too much at this stage (don't want to frighten them off), but will post on this forum as things develop.

 

Tim & June (Winchester)

 

See June, I told you that sign which said 'Unsuitable for Motor Vehicles' was wrong ! icon_smile.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Tim & June:

Today we recieved a couple of phone calls from HCC.

 

They seem to be very excited and have even suggested that they might be able to send a representative along to the Richard & Judy show to emphasise the positive and educational aspect of caching.


This is great news! I'm still nervous about such wide scale publicity, but this would certainly ensure that it's good publicity!

 

SimonG.org - now with added blog!

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If HCC do wave the flag as positively as suggested and geocaching grows expotentially it maybe will mean one thing - our house prices will increase in this area as everyone moves into the caching capital of the UK!!!! icon_wink.gif

 

Lizzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

Don't you think that sooner or later someone will notice that its a mobile phone not a GPS your using???

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quote:
Originally posted by Tim & June:

They seem to be very excited and have even suggested that they might be able to send a representative along to the Richard & Judy show to emphasise the positive and educational aspect of caching.


As one who has questioned the wisdom of (or whined about, whichever you wish to call it icon_wink.gif) approaching major landowners "head on", I take my hat off to T&J (and I suspect I should add The Bramblers) for doing so in such a subtle and effective manner in the case of HCC.

 

It's good to know that HCC monitor this forum and that the public debate and argument of our growing pains hasn't distorted the truth that geocachers are responsible lovers of the countryside who just happen to add a little excitement to their rambles.

 

Let's hope HCC will be good friends (and maybe even join the forum).

 

=====

There's no such thing as a free lunchbox!

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I break my silence for this one.

 

As you know I have not always agreed with general 'guidelines' and have treated them as guidelines not hard and fast rules. I have tried to be led by commonsense.

 

However I will absolutely and slavishly follow these guidelines whatever they may be. Why? Because they will represent an explicit set of rules in exchange for which we receive permission to use something we would otherwise not be entitled to.

 

Tim and June and The Bramblers deserve our wholehearted thanks for progressing this in the face of totally unreasonable 'pressure' from some quarters. Stick with it guys, most of us appreciate your efforts.

 

Peter

 

Presses mute button again

 

_________________________________________________________

 

It is better to regret something you did, rather than to regret something you didn't do.

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HCC Update.

 

June and I had a meeting with HCC today.

 

The meeting went really well and now there is a fuller understanding of what and how we do it.

 

Several of the Wardens are now aware of our caches on the land and are very pleased that they have been so well reviewed in the logs, and the links to the HCC webpages referring to the site.

 

There are still a number of bridges to cross, but it is looking good. We will now have to wait a few weeks while they agree guidelines for us.

 

HCC control/own 10,000 acres plus all the umpteen miles of footpaths and bridleways etc. WOW !

 

Tim & June (Winchester)

 

See June, I told you that sign which said 'Unsuitable for Motor Vehicles' was wrong ! icon_smile.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by Tim & June:

HCC Update.

 

June and I had a meeting with HCC today.

 


 

Hey, excellent news! Well done team. I hope you gave tham all a complimentary bear icon_smile.gif ... you did say you had a lot to get rid of!

 

See you tomorrow?

 

Paul

 

Noone in their right mind would place a cache THERE....

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quote:
Originally posted by golddust1000:

Well this is good stuff. I am surprised that the Ramblers Association are not complaing though. They manage to find fault with virtually everyone elses passtimes that encroach on 'thier' footpaths, byways and dare I say country.

 

icon_smile.gif


 

In that case, lets introduce them to the Mod Ants....

 

'Light blue touchpaper and retire to a safe distance' - But this touchpaper is *dark* blue...

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