Off-roaders force closure of scenic route in Lake District National Park
[29 September 2004]
Over use and a failure to comply with
voluntary restraints by 4x4s and trail bikes has led to such sever
damage to one of the Lake District's most popular high level "greenlane"
routes that it is to be closed to motorised vehicles for six months from
October 11.
The Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) has been forced to
close Garburn Pass to allow vital repairs to the damaged surface to take
place. The route is a bridleway, used by horse riders, cyclists and
walkers, but also has a duel status as a Byway Open to All Traffic,
allowing recreational off-road vehicles to use it.
Garburn Pass links two popular and scenic valleys, Kentmere and
Troutbeck. Such is the damage to the route's surface that a major
programme of work costing £20,000, including drainage
and surface restoration, needs to be carried out. The LDNPA is
considering introducing a permit scheme, similar to one that already
exists to restrict off-road vehicles use of the Gatescarth Pass route,
on Garburn Pass.
The LDNPA has warned that the closure will directly affect all other
users for the duration of the closure.
The route over the Garburn Pass has been a cause of concern for some
time, with the LDNPA receiving more complaints about recreational off-roading
on the trail than on any other in the National Park. Other associated
problems have included unauthorised motorbike scrambling in quarries
around Troutbeck.
The Ramblers' Association has been campaigning, alongside a coalition of
environmental and access groups, for several years for action to be
taken on routes like this. One of the main concerns is that
conflict between vulnerable users such as horse riders, cyclists and
walkers and motorised vehicles is inevitable with the dramatic rise in
the number of recreational off-road vehicles using rights of way.
Paul Bell of the Ramblers' Association said, "Byways Open to All Traffic
like this have motorised vehicular rights because of an loophole in the
law: if a horse and cart once used the route 200 years ago, 4x4s and
trail bikes can use it today. We believe that this is totally
inappropriate, and are very concerned by the destruction of these
historically and environmentally important rights of way by recreational
off-roading."