London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

MoD ‘using scare tactics’ to force public away from ancient woodland

MoD ‘using scare tactics’ to force public away from ancient woodland

Walkers and cyclists defy closure of Ash Ranges they say is illegal under 1876 grant to armed forces
Rod Johnson has walked around Ash Ranges all his life. On a few days each month, the ancient woodland is closed to the public so soldiers from Aldershot barracks can practise at the firing ranges.

But for half a century Johnson, like many residents of Ash Vale, has been able to walk the ranges when the red flags are down, showing the soldiers are elsewhere.

That changed last year when the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation decided to permanently close the ranges to the public for the first time since the commons were granted to the armed forces in 1876, on the proviso that they remained open to the public when not in military use.

Now Johnson and other campaigners say the MoD has become increasingly heavy-handed in enforcing what they call an illegal closure.

Last month, two military police officers turned up on the 76-year-old’s doorstep with a letter asking him to come to a police interview to discuss allegations of criminal damage to fencing around the ranges.

“I think they’re trying to scare us,” Johnson said. “It’s harassment.”

Other dog walkers and cyclists continue to use the closed-off area in defiance of the closure, and Peter Corns of the Save Our Spaces campaign says several have been approached by MoD marshals telling people they could be arrested for trespassing.

“I still walk my dogs on the ranges every day,” Johnson said. “I’ve walked the ranges since 1960. My girls cycled on the range road to school. I learned to ride a motorbike. People fly kites, they go tobogganing in the winter. The scouts, the guides, the brownies – they use it too.”

The allegation of criminal damage is galling for Johnson, since he has reported vandalism and fires he spotted while walking on the ranges.

The campaigners say they are baffled as to why the ranges have been shut. Two other firing ranges in the 1,400 hectare reserve, Stoney Castle and Henley Park, remain open, but they are further away and inaccessible for older and disabled people, including Johnson’s wife Heather, who uses a mobility scooter.

“I asked them if they could put a disabled gate in the fence for her to get through,” Johnson said. “If she had enough battery, we could make it along the roads for miles. Now she can’t get up here at all.”

The DIO built a path around the perimeter of the barbed wire fence, but it often floods and is too narrow for Heather to use.

The MoD has told the campaigners it is concerned about vandalism on the ranges, forcing training to be cancelled, and public safety.

“Vandalism has actually gone up since they closed the ranges,” Corns said. “There’s no one around to spot anything.”

The Ash Ranges reserve is just about visible from the top of Caesar’s Camp, on the other side of Aldershot. The iron age hill fort looms over Training Area B6, an area of bucolic beauty covered with gorse, bracken, heather and sundews that thrive in the sandy soil.

“Since lockdown started, the number of people coming here shot up,” said Simon Brown, who runs the Trail Action Group – mountain bikers who ride through the woods and heathland. “I can ride for about 50km without leaving the area.”

When the Parachute Regiment was based in Aldershot, soldiers would do lung-busting training runs in full kit and carrying a bergen, or backpack, as they ran to top of the steep slopes. Veterans still visit the place and often bring a stone for a cairn of remembrance for their comrades, Brown said. “I’ve been here all my life. We do a lot of education for riders – if you see soldiers, you turn around and go elsewhere. There’s always somewhere else to go. But the DIO seems to want nobody else here at all.”

Mountain bikers are occasionally given yellow warning notices that state they are breaching bylaws applying to Aldershot and could be arrested and fined. Cycling is not allowed under the bylaws, but Brown believes they are being wrongly applied.

“In 2019 we came to an agreement with the DIO about where we could ride,” he said. “But they have started trying to get rid of us again.”

The MoD has promised to review the bylaws for more than a decade, Brown said. He fears a review will lead to closure of the whole training area.

That would be a tragedy, he said. “More than 11,000 people come here. It’s a place you can come to shed the baggage of life.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×