Trust defends decision to DOUBLE bike pass prices for Rushmere Park near Leighton Buzzard amid criticism

Cyclists in and around Leighton Buzzard have criticised The Greensand Trust for DOUBLING its bike pass prices at Rushmere Park in Heath and Reach and Aspley Wood near Woburn amid the cost of living crisis.

The price of the Rushmere annual family standard cycle pass was £75 for 2021, with the new price now standing at £160 (with Gift Aid it has risen from £85 in 2021 to £176 now).

The single annual pass has similar percentage hike from £40 to £80 (the Gift Aid price upped from £45 to £88).

There are also now no joint passes for Rushmere Park/Aspley Wood, with cyclists now needing to buy two separate passes for the sites.

The soaring prices have outraged one cyclist who contacted the LBO.

He has bought the passes for his family in the past and is unhappy about the new renewal charges.

The dad said: “I've not renewed the family pass, because that's £160 just for Rushmere and the kids will probably not go that often. But we might go four or five times over the winter.”

The Greensand Trust has defended its decision to raise the prices. A spokesperson said: “We feel we offer an excellent value for money service for cycling provision at both Woburn Woods and Rushmere which are comparable to other bike trails around the country and locally.”

They continued: “The costings are at a level that we need to enable the continuation of these fantastic facilities. The Trust is a not-for profit charity and all monies taken for cycling and parking are invested back into the facilities.”

But our source was critical about the lack of maintenance on the trails, stating: “I think many others don't mind paying, but it's the fact that I don't think the Greensands reinvest that money back into trails.”

He said local mountain biking groups use the Woburn Woods and Rushmere trails to teach riders – raising concerns about erosion due to the regular use.

The dad added: “It's more a maintenance issue as when they're riding they are eroding sections much quicker than it actually was before before they were there.”

With the current cost of living crisis in the UK and prices of essentials increasing, the dad suspects that families who cannot afford the new passes, will take chances and not pay.

He claimed enforcement of the passes had been an issue in the past, adding: “I've never been stopped and asked for a pass. So it's not heavily enforced.

“I don’t know what the alternative is really. Because for a family or low income, I should imagine that that's a huge amount of money.”

The Trust has pointed out that cyclists who chose not to pay for a pass can use the blue route through the Rushmere site, which doesn’t have a loop - meaning that cyclists only have a small stretch to cycle up and down for free.

The Greensand Trust employs rangers to look after the Rushmere trail and relies on volunteers to do the same at Aspley Wood.

The dad said: “Woburn looks after itself because of the team of volunteers, but Rushmere doesn't seem to have the same attention because it is ranger led. So it seems to be maintained to a lower standard certainly. And they just tend to chuck sand in holes and which will then just disappear or tends to get sloppy when it rains.”

The dad, as well as other former users of the trails posting on social media, say they have been disappointed that no official announcement of the price changes were made.

As well as the dad, social media users have also alleged the trails have been neglected.