“Low Key” Future For Tourism At Dove Stone

Dove Stone Reservoir, viewed from the ridge below the summit of Alphin Pike. (picture: Geograph/John Darch)

Plans to make visiting Dove Stone Reservoir more enjoyable will be “low key,” Saddleworth Parish Councillors were told last night. Roy Taylor of the RSPB addressed the council meeting at Uppermill Civic Hall, and promised he didn’t want to see Dove Stone become a busy attraction like nearby Hollingworth Lake.

The RSPB is taking over management of the site from the owner, United Utilities. It’s already carried out a public consultation to try to establish what local people want to see at Dove Stone.

Mr Taylor, the RSPB’s area manager for the Peak District, updated councillors last night. He said the main theme from the 1800 responses to the consultation was the need to keep the area around the reservoir free from litter. There was also a desire to preserve the area’s beauty, as well as concern about anti-social behaviour and the state of the toilets at the reservoir.

He went on to describe three separate timescales for making improvements to Dove Stone. The first set of priorities are for this summer, with a second group of targets to be achieved over the next three years, and a third set featuring some long-term aspirations for the area.

For this summer, four new assistants will be employed to help at Dove Stone. Part of their job will be to man the car park barrier at weekends, to try to make sure people intent on causing trouble are turned away. Mr Taylor also promised that litter picks will now take place on 160 days each year around Dove Stone, and said three new dog bins will be installed.

Mr Taylor went on to explain that, in the coming years, the RSPB’s key principle for Dove Stone would be to make the experience for visitors more about face-to-face contact than putting in fixed pieces of infrastructure. The new assistants will help organise a series of themed activities around Dove Stone each day, and these will change with the seasons. Mr Taylor said that he hoped this would help people who already visit Dove Stone to enjoy it more, and that the RSPB “is not trying to attract mass tourism.”

When talking about the RSPB’s long-term vision for the area, Mr Taylor revealed that a new visitor centre could be built within five years. It would be a new home for the Sailing Club, and would also replace the current toilets. Cups of tea and sandwiches would be available too, although Mr Taylor stressed it would not be anything like a “destination” restaurant.

Councillors gave a generally positive reaction to Mr Taylor’s presentation. However, Cllr Ken Hulme was concerned that the plans wouldn’t do enough to solve the problem of anti-social behaviour, such as drinking and loud music, which have affected some areas of the site, particularly on summer evenings.

Although he was pleased to hear that more staff would be around Dove Stone, Cllr Hulme was clearly unhappy when Mr Taylor revealed that none of them would be there at night for health and safety reasons. Cllr Hulme said: “Having the staff on site is what keeps it in good order. There is a problem in Greenfield, and that problem is at nights.”

Mr Taylor argued that investing in Dove Stone would help breed more pride in it among local people, which would help protect the site from vandalism. Cllr Hulme was sceptical about this, but, in a testy exchange, Mr Taylor told him, “I think you’re wrong.” He went on to say that the RSPB “is not a police force. It isn’t in my remit to tell my staff to police drug dealers in the car park at 11 o’clock at night. It’s not the RSPB’s job to police sites.”

Saddleworth Parish Council has already announced that a new park-and-ride tourist bus will run from Greenfield Station to Dove Stone on summer weekends from June this year. It’ll be free for anyone with a valid rail or bus ticket, and for the over 60s. Final details of the scheme will be confirmed once the new train and and bus timetables are released.

The future of Dove Stone was also discussed earlier yesterday at a meeting of various interested parties, including representatives of the RSPB, the Parish Council, Oldham Council and the Peak District National Park, which includes Dove Stone.

Afterwards, the park’s Chief Executive, Jim Dixon, tweeted that Dove Stone has a “bright future.” He also revealed that it is the most-visited RSPB reserve, and that he considers it a “gateway” to the rest of the park.

The RSPB’s updated plans for Dove Stone will now be subject to a further consultation, with the public invited to meetings due to be held at Uppermill Civic Hall next month.

The RSPB’s website for Dove Stone is here.

Jim Dixon’s Twitter account is here.

There’s also a short report on the Oldham Chronicle website here.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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