Shamblewood Trials Bike Park in Hedge End, near Southampton, has received an enforcement notice from Eastleigh Borough Council ordering the site to cease operating as a bike park.

The notice describes the breach as an unauthorised change of use: turning the land into a bike park without planning permission. It states this appears to have been the case for up to 10 years.

Shamblewood's operators posted about the notice on Instagram, saying: "To say we're not happy would be an understatement. After years of dedication, building this from the ground up, we feel that having it taken away so quickly would be a huge knock to the riding community." They are appealing the council's decision and have asked the community for help, including advice, contacts and reference letters, and are holding a fundraiser at the park on Sunday 9 August, 10am to 4pm, with all proceeds going towards the cost of the appeal.

According to the council, the site sits within designated countryside and a settlement gap, and it argues the park conflicts with its local plan and national planning policy. It also says Shamblewood has not shown that the site avoids causing noise, light or traffic problems for neighbours, or that local roads can cope with it.

As part of the appeal, the operators are asking anyone who has visited, ridden, volunteered at or otherwise benefited from Shamblewood to send a short, factual letter of support describing their personal experience and why they believe the facility is valuable. Letters can be emailed to shamblewoodpark@gmail.com.

Commenters on the announcement have offered advice on factors that are often relevant to appeals of this kind, including the scale and history of the structures involved, whether the land is public or private, and its planning designation, such as green belt, AONB, SSSI or agricultural land. They noted that if the structures have stood for some time, the statutory time limit for enforcement action may already have passed, depending on the land type, potentially via a Certificate of Lawfulness application, and suggested it would be worth getting specialist planning advice. A retrospective planning application was also raised as a possible route forward.

Shamblewood has become a genuinely valued and loved part of the UK trials community, and it shows in how riders talk about it. Dedicated trials venues are rare in the UK, with only a handful set up specifically for the discipline, and Shamblewood is one of them. It's a trials-focused venue: low-speed, technical riding over hand-built obstacles including logs, rocks, pallets and purpose-built terrain, aimed at riders of all abilities. It was named winner of iBikeRide's Bike Trials category at Trail of the Year 2026, a new category for this year's awards. Riders who voted described a park where obstacles run from complete-novice lines to elite-level challenges, and which is constantly evolving. "It's the sort of park we dreamt of having years ago," one regular wrote, crediting founder Shaun Goddard and a welcoming crew of regulars for building somewhere young riders can get into trials safely. It's a facility iBikeRide would be sorry to see lost, and we'll be following the appeal closely and adding our support to the campaign.

Check out the Shamblewood Trials Bike Park listing where you can read the rider reviews and so see what this facility means to the community. You can also follow the park on Instagram, and find details of the 9 August fundraiser here.