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[RedLeader]

Purely health and safety as far as I could tell which is total nonsense. He went on about how children might drown swimming if they went at night which didn't even make that much sense in context - swimming is already banned by a byelaw and a child could fall in any number of lakes, rivers or seas on or off forestry land. Banning them from a forest incase they drown is like banning them from the sea incase they get stuck up a tree!

Did the Forest Service representative give any reasons why they want to implement this bylaw?

This has been suggested a number of times and on the surface it seems like a good idea. However, I feel that having to ask permission to use the forest is as bad as being banned anyways. We'll all end up mired in red tape and health and safety nonsense. A good example is, if you want to launch your canoe from the canoe trail in Delamont country park you have to fill out a mad health and safety questionnaire before they'll even open the gate (that stays locked at all other times). Leave me alone, I'm an adult and I can decide myself what is safe and what isn't, I don't need someone making decisions for me as if I was 9!

Maybe if there was some sort of permit for groups like us it would help?

[suspectmonkey]

Hot off the press folks, I've just stuck together a post which talks about the radio show this morning and the opinions put across during it.  There is also a link on the post to allow you to listen to the show again.

http://www.jonpatterson.co.uk/2011/forest-service-draconian-byelaws/

[RedLeader]

Sorry to totally hijack this thread  

Here is what happened in Castlewellan.
http://www.u.tv/News/Drowning-tragedyTell-Mummy-I-love-her/d28b7242-b4e3-4d31-80a6-4f47ad71d068

While it's very sad and I feel for the parents does this quote sound like a reason to ban everyone in the whole country from forests in the evenings:

Clare Steele and her cousin Rory McAlinden had been drinking before going out on the lake in a stolen canoe.

Did the Forest Service representative give any reasons why they want to implement this bylaw?

One argument put forward was for the safety of people using the forest with the example of people who got into trouble using the lake at Castlewellan a few years ago.  Understandable, yes but if you're a responsible user why should you be punished?

[LandyLiam]

Did the Forest Service representative give any reasons why they want to implement this bylaw?

One argument put forward was for the safety of people using the forest with the example of people who got into trouble using the lake at Castlewellan a few years ago.  Understandable, yes but if you're a responsible user why should you be punished?

he chose a poor example, no byelaws would have stopped that, and as Castlewellan has a campsite a few hundred feet from the lake it would be the most difficult place to enforce a nighttime curfew!

[DryBag]

Forest service is part of CAAN, our wee province's umbrella organisation which promotes and improves access to the countryside, and even CAAN's other member organisations think these new bylaws are daft.

I asked Caro-Lynne Ferris how Countryside Recreation were responding to the proposals.
They reckon the bylaws could never be enforced without giving the Forest Service more resources. Among other things, she pointed out that
"Research carried out for SportNI in 2009 by CAAN showed that cycling takes places in over 80 different venues across Northern Ireland, the majority of which are Forest Service sites."
If they do introduce 'cycling zones' in the forests they'd have to have a detailed Recreational Plan for every Forest, particularly those which are currently recognised as cycling venues, and the acceptable zones would need to be properly and clearly marked out.

From that I read that if they do insist on going ahead with this, it will cost them a fortune.

[cerbera147]

This is also going to be covered on Talkback on Radio Ulster today 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007cpt4

This is really great coverage. I'm sure the Forest Service are sick as they thought this was going to slip through unnoticed; well done to all 

[suspectmonkey]

Sorry to totally hijack this thread 

Here is what happened in Castlewellan.
http://www.u.tv/News/Drowning-tragedyTell-Mummy-I-love-her/d28b7242-b4e3-4d31-80a6-4f47ad71d068

While it's very sad and I feel for the parents does this quote sound like a reason to ban everyone in the whole country from forests in the evenings:

Clare Steele and her cousin Rory McAlinden had been drinking before going out on the lake in a stolen canoe.

Glad you looked that up, as when I was listening to the response on the radio I thought that was a very poor example.  Whilst it was a tragic incident it doesn't seem to offer any justification for the proposed byelaws.  Their approach to "duty of care" seems to be to blanket ban everything so they cant be held to account.  I thought it was also very appropriate that Mark Carruthers pointed out there are many Forest Service areas with lakes that have no daytime supervision anyway.

Banning them from a forest incase they drown is like banning them from the sea incase they get stuck up a tree!

I like that

[RedLeader]

Does anyone know what the contact details are for Talkback?

This is also going to be covered on Talkback on Radio Ulster today 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007cpt4

This is really great coverage. I'm sure the Forest Service are sick as they thought this was going to slip through unnoticed; well done to all 

[Eamonn]

http://38degrees.uservoice.com/forums/78585-campaign-suggestions/suggestions/1940005-help-stop-these-new-forestry-byelaws-fines-for-b?ref=title

Could everyone vote on this too please.

[cerbera147]

Does anyone know what the contact details are for Talkback?

This is also going to be covered on Talkback on Radio Ulster today 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007cpt4

This is really great coverage. I'm sure the Forest Service are sick as they thought this was going to slip through unnoticed; well done to all 

Text: 81771
Phone: 0845 9555678

They're still talking about the fun in East Belfast last night 

[LandyLiam]

They're still talking about the fun in East Belfast last night 

surprised they don't try and solve that with a byelaw 

[cerbera147]

They're still talking about the fun in East Belfast last night 

surprised they don't try and solve that with a byelaw 

Funny someone did a mention a curfew 

They'd probably get a nasty fine if they came out  Perhaps the Forest Wardens will train with the riot squad, maybe even borrow their water cannon 

I did hear the piece on Talkback. It was a bit light but at least it has raised it to a new audience.
All agreed that it was a load of old nonsense. However, those seem to be laws that get passed these days 

[admin]

Another article
http://www.4ni.co.uk/northern_ireland_news.asp?id=128327

Plus, the Facebook group is now over 500 people

[Samm]

Having had a chance to read the bylaws today my favourites are 'no singing' and 'no cursing'! Is it 1st April!?

[Kayakgirl]

Due to the incident in Castlewellan all Outdoor providers no longer store/leave boats unsupervised.
If they want to introduce the bye law due to this incident, why not have a warden/security on throughout the evening to keep an eye on the area, this will also help with unruley campers.

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