Your report on the work being done by North Yorkshire County Council on repairing historic unsealed routes (‘Future of historic lanes is positive’, Craven Herald, June 3) says that “off-road driving enthusiasts” have “perhaps unfairly” taken most of the blame for the deterioration in the condition of these tracks.
This conclusion is not borne out by the experience of the management of these green lanes in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The National Park Authority’s green lane management reports and reviews show that its 10 traffic regulation orders (TROs), banning recreational motor vehicles, have been effective in preventing significant deterioration in the surface condition of the 10 lanes where these TROs have been in place since 2008 and 2010. In contrast other green lanes in the National Park where recreational motor vehicle use is not restricted have required repeated repairs.
For example, Cam High Road from Bainbridge to Fleet Moss has needed repairs to its surface and drainage three times in the last nine years, while the number of motorbikes using it has more than doubled. The “off-road enthusiasts” have also damaged the verges and adjacent grassland with their 4x4s and motorbikes (see photos enclosed).
It is ironic that your on-line version of this report is illustrated by a photo of the Settle loop of the Pennine Bridleway. The Settle loop is one of the routes which has been protected from damage by recreational motor vehicles since 2010, by a TRO on Gorbeck Road and by the motorbikers’ claim for the right to use Stockdale Lane being rejected.
Diana Mallinson
Giggleswick
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