Copy of Vandalism on the Common Version2 :: Crowborough Common Official Site, Crowborough, West Sussex

Crowborough Common - The Official Site

Illegal Dumping, Vandalism and snaring of Badgers on the Common

Regrettably the number, and variety of acts of vandalism, on the Common and golf course, have been on the increase over recent years. Although regularly reported to the Police and Local Authorities, these acts are rarely reported in the local press, yet the Golf Club staff and members clean up, carry on as normal and bear the consequences and expense of repairs.

Right-minded members of the community would no doubt be horrified to fully contemplate the magnitude of such incidents. Whilst the golf club has never previously sought to highlight these or be seen as 'making a fuss', following adverse Press coverage and letters with an anti-golf club bias, it seems only fair to redress the balance to a degree and highlight the regular problems with which the staff and members have to deal with. Since January 2010, the following incidents and activities, have been enacted upon Golf Club property.

The slideshow shows clear evidence of illegal dumping of garden waste by neighbours onto the Common. You wouldn't really expect your next door neighbour to dump his grass cuttings and hedge clippings over the fence into your garden but it seems to be standard practice here and has clearly been going on for years! But not any more now the local authorities have been notified and they will be taking legal action in future.
The apparently 'much-loved' childrens camp, surrounded by dozens of bottles, after advice from Health and Safety advisors has finally been cleared and the area made safe. As you can see from the picture, the camp, made partly from stolen Estate Agents boards, was directly under a birch tree sloping at an angle of some 22 degrees from the ground. If your children were playing in a similar camp at School, a teacher would most likely be dismissed under Health and Safety grounds for not showing a proper 'Duty of Care'. If such a tree was leaning across your garden, any sensible person would have it felled immediately. It was clearly unsafe, was surrounded by glass bottles everywhere and contravened the Bye-Laws. Now removed, this is no longer an issue for discussion or debate. It had, quite frankly, become an unwelcome side issue to far more important matters.
Such as the illegal snares found early in 2012, on several separate occasions, skillfully set by somebody who clearly knew what he was doing. The slip-knots cruelly placed on the ground, which you can see in the pictures, attached to sprung trees, were only a few feet away from the active Badger Set. Draw your own conclusions but people don't go to this much trouble to catch rabbits. regrettably, the barbaric act of badger-baiting is alive and well in Britain today and to our horror we discovered that we have somebody living on our own doorstep actively involved. Thanks to the diligence of Golf Club staff, the Police were able to catch the person involved, a local man, who has been cautioned. Set within just a few feet of the Badger Set, these dangerous traps were also within 20' of the abandoned childrens camp. Horrific.
There has been a catalogue of less dramatic acts of mindless vandalism since January 2010, although there are other alarming and reported incidents as you will read below.
11th green vandalised
2 flags stolen from 1st green
Aluminium sign at 17th path stolen
Aluminium sign at 11th tee stolen
Rubbish bin set on fire at half way house
Sign at 5th tee stolen
Diesel tank broken in to and full tank of diesel stolen
15th green attacked with a spade
Push bikes ridden and skidded on the 2nd 3rd and 4th greens
Sign at High Brooms stolen
Car drove over the 13th green twice
Horse damage on the 2nd green
5th tee ball washer stolen
2010. 14 flags and flagpoles stolen in one night
Car damage on the 13th green
Car damage on the 12th green
Car damage on the 7th fairway
Car damage on the 15th fairway
7th fountain vandalised
4 teak benches vandalised
Hundreds of divots hacked from the 4th fairway
Tee blocks stolen and divot boxes damaged
Fires being lit
Signage vandalised on the practice ground
Stolen irrigation boxes opened and water turned on and off
Rope and posts removed - Rope being cut with scissors.
Half way house roof vandalised and covered in graffiti
The Pro Shop being burgled twice within the space of a few weeks
More recently, an increase in horse-riders not remaining on the official bridleways, causing damage on tees and fairways
Incidents with walkers, with the mistaken belief that they have a right of way; threatening behaviour against a junior member
Using firearms and shooting the aluminium sign on the practice ground until destroyed
Use of remote control electric toys on the golf course greens then followed by threatening behaviour when challenged by a member of staff
Every single member of the greenstaff has, at some point, been bitten by a dog
The fly-tipping at the Sweethaws Lane car park is there for the whole world to see
Even worse some criminal acts which are unable to be described here but suffice to say have been reported to the Police

These are just some of the ways that some people have previously exercised past rights to 'air and exercise' on Crowborough Common. The combined cost in damaged property, man hours repairing damage, as you can imagine, runs to thousands of pounds, not hundreds.