Ilkley Harriers ie represented on anumber of local groups, including the Rombalds Moor Forum, Wharfedale Activity Group (WAG), and the Bradford Athletics Network (BAN).
Rombalds Moor Forum - "Safeguarding the well-being of Rombalds Moor"
The Rombalds Moor Forum and its associated Steering Group traces its roots back to the autumn of 2007 when Dave Melling, then Rural Affairs Officer for Bradford Council, met with various stakeholders in Rombalds Moor to discuss a variety of Moor-related problems.
Dave realised from that meeting that stakeholder issues relating to Rombalds Moor were many and various. The Moor required looking at as an entity, rather than simply by reference to land ownership. It was also clear that stakeholders were interested in meeting regularly to discuss environmental, cultural, economic and recreational issues relating to the Moor.
In March 2008, Bradford Council hosted the first Rombalds Moor Conference and from that emerged a Steering Group of people prepared to meet regularly to keep each other aware of issues, problems and activities related to Rombalds Moor. Members include representatives of voluntary sector organisations, business owners, residents, sport and leisure clubs and representatives from Bradford Council.
Bradford Council, which is the primary landowner in the Rombalds Moor area, sits as a Steering Group member, but the organisation and facilitation are provided by an outside body, Community Accord. The Council participates but does not, and cannot, dominate proceedings.
The Forum has been working to identify stakeholder priorities and these have been determined to be:
In terms of achievements the Forum can point to the following:
There will soon be a Rombalds Forum web site with further information.
Late in 2008, Ilkley Harriers was approached by the Forum to see if it would provide a representative to sit on the Steering Group. Whilst walkers and mountain bikers were represented, there was no participation from the running/fell running community.
Ilkley Harriers effectively represents all the local athletic clubs which are within or adjacent to the Rombalds Moor area.
The initial IH representative on the Steering Group was Morgan Williams, and currently (July 2010) we are looking for someone to take over this role. Here are a few thoughts from Morgan:
"Since late 2008, I have been fortunate in that there have been no big issues or problems which have arisen regarding running or racing on Rombalds Moor, so there has been no "rough ride" in any sense. Quite the reverse really. So although I have established a direct line to the FRA's Access and Environment Officer, I haven't had to use it much!
The interests represented on the Forum are very wide-ranging and you get to meet some interesting people. You also develop a feel for who does what locally and who might be able to help with a particular issue. Much of the work is about mucking in and talking through issues that relate to other people's interests, not just running on Rombalds Moor.
But everything we look at relates to the health and well-being of the Moor and the local community. Ilkley Harriers is a community organisation and it is right that the Club not only represents the running "interest" on the Steering Group, but also contributes something beyond that. Let's face it, many Club members are pretty heavy "users" of the Moor year round, so it is right that we help put something back."
See the Forum topic for the latest from Morgan.