Marlborough’s popular campsite at the top of Postern Hill and set in the beautiful surroundings of Savernake Forest is unlikely to be re-opening at any time soon. Forestry England have just issued an update statement confirming that it is to remain closed and they didn’t give any hint or steer towards when – or if – it could become a campsite again.
The campsite closed at the end of last season, in early October after the former operator decided that they would pull out and then terminated their lease. So whilst a reopening is very unlikely during what’s left of this season the question remains what happens next Spring. And what has been released doesn’t give any positive indications.
The core of the Forestry England statement is thus:
‘A key part of our work to date has been carrying out site surveys to understand what development is needed at Postern Hill. These surveys have shown that the camp site needs considerable work to ensure a successful future. It’s important to make sure that we’re making the most appropriate decision for the site, so we are currently exploring other ways to bring the site back into use and re-open it to the public. This will take some time, but we want to reassure the community that we are still working towards a future for Postern Hill and we will share further updates in due course.’
The site did lack some fairly basic facilities – showers for example. But that didn’t deter many campers, it has always been a popular site. The last piece about this did – after the closure in early November – suggested – hoped – that Forestry England would meet with the Town Council in an open session where the future of the site could be discussed. This hasn’t happened.
Locally, Milly Carmichael, keen Postern camper and campaigner told Marlborough.news:
“I want someone to be more transparent with us – our campaign group, local people and Postern camping regulars alike – about what the challenges really are and what sort of timescale we’re looking at for re-opening. We want something more concrete than the vague assurances we have had to date. It’s such an important place for so many people, we’ve missed out on a whole season already, and the not knowing is creating a lot of sadness and frustration.”
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