The final decision to decide the fate of 8 major trail routes in the western Yorkshire Dales will be taken by the

YDNPs Access Committee which meets at 10am on 17 April at the YDNP office, Yoredale ,in Bainbridge, 10 miles east of Hawes.

YDNP are only allowing 15 minutes of public questions at the public meeting.

Please take the trouble to turn up and support the very reasonable case that NYTMAG(united vehicle user groups) have made over the past 2 yrs of  intense consultations with YDNP, which have got nowhere at all.

Remember that North Yorkshire Police say that they oppose the TROs.  They are unwilling and  unable to enforce TROs on green lanes and see no need for a TRO in the first place as they have had no complaints whatsoever.   A pretty powerful argument I think.

Also that if North Yorkshire County Council were still running things ,a lot more tolerance would be shown.

This is clear from NYCC responses to the YDNP plans.

It is also now clear that at least one member of the YDNP Access Committee holds an executive position

on at least two other bodies whose policy is to  ban  trail riding.  Those who sit on judgement on others should be seen to be impartial. 

In l987 I  had a magistrate removed from a court hearing  in Leyburn in the Yorkshire Dales,

to close a green lane  because he made it known  beforehand that he was determined to close that lane  regardless.   The authorities agreed with my complaint  and  so another JP was brought in from Scarborough 60 miles away to hear the Section 116 application. 

We still lost but at least justice was seen to be done and the TRF did at least  get a fair hearing  in court.

It also showed that the TRF is not to be trampled on so easily by the authorities. 

This is why you should ask for a Public Inquiry for all YDNP lanes threatened with TRO, where we may  get a fair hearing before an Inspector who must be seen to be  impartial.

I am sorry I cannot be there on April 17th as I have to be in South Yorkshire persuing the TRFs 120 valid Byway claims which are creating  a lot of trouble and extra work thanks to enemy action being the scenes.

The Ramblers Assoc and others promise a big  fight to kill off every single  one which will take six years and cost the highway authority an estimated £500,000.     The cost in public money to close a few green lanes is huge and all due to an obsession against motor cycles out of all proportion to the evidence.

Do remember that all we are trying to do is keep open  just  5% of the network of public rights of way in England and Wales.

I repeat FIVE PERCENT !  Thats 5000 miles of green lanes out of 140,000 miles of footpaths and bridleways.

As one pro TRF council told me the real problem is negligable and has been

widely exaggerated often due to a misunderstanding  as to what trail riding is all about. 

Many lump decent trail riders in with the kids who cause a nuisance on housing estates. 

But the RA(charity status of course) and others not content with 95%, demand the entire rights of way   network  for their exclusive use. 

It would please them if we now took  up flower arranging or stamp collecting !  

We have survived NERC

losses and we will with 38 years of TRF experience and  skill, survive the latest round of closures.

BRIAN THOMPSON   9 march 2008

LOST WAYS PROJECT.

This £15m Govt project is now finally dead.  It has not managed to re open a SINGLE ancient right of way in six years.  Discovering Lost Ways was set up by Defra now Natural England in the Countryside Act of 2000. Charged with putting old  ways on to Definitive Maps it was condemed from the outset by landowners who feared lost ways would be taken over by trail riders.

So its OUR fault the Govt scheme has failed !

 The project was based on a number of ancient routes all historic that were deemed in danger of being lost. 

Many of these were green lanes currently shown as the wrong status or no status at all and in danger of being stolen or ploughed out.

Some £4 has been spent mainly in Cheshire and Shropshire on pilot schemes.  Staff searched old maps and deeds dating back to the 1800s.  All to be shown for this £4 m  is 5 applications to Cheshire County Council and 20 to Shropshire.   Volunteers were not allowed to help the civil servants research or make  claims some of which were to be for Byway or Rest Byway.

Amanda Earnshaw an official of the Lost Ways Project admitted that what should have been a sensible process got mired in bureaucracy.   Applications were bounced between council meetings for years.

We know the feeling !

Eight months ago I was contacted by the Lost Ways team who offered they support  in getting my 120

Byway claims in South Yorkshire onto the Definitive Map.

 They were glad to have details of  another 40 "lost green lanes" in east Yorkshire,North Yorkshire, Co Durham and Lincs which I had been struggling with for many years.   They  said they would help me and would take up the TRF applications with each highway authority.

Nothing came of it.  In my opinion the powerful landowning lobby fearing a few more Byways, put  the boot in.   The 100,000 farmers in the UK have an influence on Govt out of all proportion to their numbers.

The National Farmers Union for example has 1000 full time staff in offices all over the country. And they dont like trail riders or Byways !

Some 2000 miles of "lost green lanes" could and should have been saved  by DLW and  put on the Def Map with the correct status for all to enjoy. But that dream is now over and £4m of public money  has been wasted.

As the  Times reported  on March 5th, "The £15m project was meant to find ancient paths but lost its way"

BRIAN THOMPSON  9 MARCH

ANTI SOCIAL MOTOR CYCLING SEMINAR IN GATESHEAD.

It sounds boring  and a lot of talk and it was with 100 delegates from all over the north,most of them policeman. Apart from Alan Kind and the speaker who ran a successful trail park in Doncaster that is.

The police in some areas have now stopped chasing mini motos on footpaths because this is resulting in accidents to the offenders.   In Gateshead alone some 3000 complaints in one year were recieved about anti social motorcycling.  Nothing much is being done to provide places for them to ride.

Doncaster however shows how with proper provision ,illegal riding drops.

Alan Kind made the best speech of the day. He said that getting motor cycle trail parks is  extremely difficult due the noisy image.  Wheras a site for carts or quads is easier because they do not have a noisy image.

Alan is working with Gateshead Council to set up a motor cycle trail park.

He said the best place for this  is next to a sewerage farm or a  rubbish dump!  No wonder we have an image problem. 

The problem is huge and right across the UK.  350,000 mini bikes were imported in the past two years said the ACU and sell for as little as £200.    There are 120,000 off road bikes in the UK. 40 to 60k riders ride off road and of these 20% of bikes are not taxed.

Rotherham Council has a useful slogan  which says "You buy it;We will crush it !" but at least they do provide a trail park.

Out of 100 delegates only 4 were from motor cycle clubs.  The ACU gave a good presentation and were very effective and they have a local authority support unit called LASU which has some  Govt grant aid.

The Seminar was held in the multi million Gateshead Sports Stadium.

Bags of public  money for every other sport or persuit but not motor cycling!

Ban em , push us around ,and chase bikes away, seems to be Govt policy !

BRIAN THOMPSON  9 MARCH