Rushmere Common

Rushmere Common (also Rushmere Heath) is common land situated on the eastern outskirts of Ipswich mainly within the parish of Rushmere St. Andrew, Suffolk, England. It is predominately heathland, gorse and woodland, and hosts a golf course. It adjoins the Sandlings Open Space to the east (which is owned and managed by East Suffolk District Council) and is crossed by a number of footpaths, including the Sandlings Walk – a long-distance footpath which starts on the common and ends 50 miles away in Southwold.

Rushmere Common (also Rushmere Heath) is common land situated on the eastern outskirts of Ipswich mainly within the parish of Rushmere St. Andrew, Suffolk, England. It is predominately heathland, gorse and woodland, and hosts a golf course. It adjoins the Sandlings Open Space to the east (which is owned and managed by East Suffolk District Council) and is crossed by a number of footpaths, including the Sandlings Walk – a long-distance footpath which starts on the common and ends 50 miles away in Southwold. ==Management== Day-to-day management of the common is performed by the Commoners Committee, which has nine members, of whom three are elected at each Annual General Meeting. Anyone who has resided in the ancient parish of Rushmere St Andrew for twelve months or more can vote, although only one vote per household is allowed. The committee is supported by a clerk and a warden. The warden patrol the common on most days and keep a watching brief on the area in general and the clerk deals with the correspondence and record keeping as well as the financial accounts. ==Rights of way== There are a number of paths across the common, one of which forms part of the Sandlings Walk. These paths are used by local people for leisure and also by walkers and cyclists as a traffic-free route to the hospital, Ipswich station, Ipswich Town Centre, BT Research at Martlesham, Kesgrave, Grange Farm and a number of local schools. The path to Grange Farm and beyond to the east of the common is a bridleway and cycling is allowed, but the path across the common is legally a footpath so cyclists should dismount. Although people have cycled across Rushmere Common for at least 70 years, the route cannot be shown on maps or signposted and the surface is not well maintained. It is also very dangerous as the footpaths are crossed by several of the golf holes and fast moving cyclists may not be seen by golfers easily. Sustrans wanted National Cycle Route 1 (NCR 1) to cross the common but were forced to make a detour to the south to avoid the area. The only other option that allows cyclists to cross the width of the common on an east–west axis without entering the common itself is cycling along the A1214 (Woodbridge Road) to the north; however, this does not have enough width for either an on-road cycle-lane or a shared-use path without a strip of land from the common. An alternative proposal has been to improve the route across the middle of the common and proposals to date have included both a paved cycle-track and the conversion of the footpath to a bridleway with a loose surface. Suffolk County Council requested a strip of land to the south of the A1214 to create a segregated cycle-path, but this was refused by the Commoners Committee. The county council are now requesting that the main east–west footpath be upgraded to a bridleway. This again is objected to by the Commoners Committee for safety reasons and to help protect the habitat. It is recognised that encouraging cycling on the common will have a detrimental effect on wildlife especially if cyclists are looking for more of a challenge and detour from the footpaths. ==References== ==External links== Official website of the Rushmere Commoners' Committee Blog relating to the common

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