Eastern Moors: Came Into Effect on 22 May
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Newsletter Issue 9 May 2014 In this issue: Vehicles now BHS head visits PHP banned on TRO now in Chapel Gate place on the Roych The Peak Park Traffic Regulation Order banning 4x4s and motor New bridleway bikes from Chapel Gate near Ringinglow Eastern Moors: came into effect on 22 May. This means an National Trust end to motor vehicles open routes for new bridleway along Froggatt Edge damaging the track horses and the restoration of BHS Access Officer Ben Benest is reporting great peace and quiet above progress on the Eastern Moors: the new concessionary the Edale Valley. It also bridleway along the top of Curbar Edge and Froggatt Diary dates: means an end to horse Edge is now open to horse-riders. riders having to contend with danger from offroad July It provides a 2.25 mile long ‘there and back’ route from vehicles on this route. BHS elections Curbar Gap where a new bridle gate has been installed near the car park. This is a lovely ride with spectacular views over Many thanks to all the (see page 4) Derbyshire from the gritstone edges. riders who took part in the public consultation There is more to come. In August a completely new section and supported the TRO. of bridle path will be created which will link the Froggatt 17 August Edge route to the A625 public road near the Grouse pub, Pleasure ride giving access to existing bridleways at White Edge and Totley Look out for the...... from Alport Moor. Eventually, this route will also link to new concession bridleways planned for the Longshaw estate. NUTTER! Most of the bridleway work planned by the Eastern Moors National park ranger, Partnership has now been completed with new gates and Pete Bush, asks all riders surface repairs done on Totley Moor, Big Moor and near the in Bakewell who use the reservoir on Ramsley Moor. Getting the routes open has been Bridleway between Holme the priority and the next stage will see installation of more Lane and the Monsal Trail to way-marking posts and mounting blocks at the gates. be observant. The last link in the chain of concessionary bridleways on the An unknown individual Eastern Moors will be a short section across the southeast keeps removing all the nuts corner of Big Moor which enables riders to by-pass a from the gates. dangerous crossroads on the Baslow Road. Once this section Apart from wasting a lot of is completed (maybe next autumn) there will be no padlocked time and money it is also bridle gates left and the days of permit riding with keys will be dangerous. The gate is likely over. to fall apart when someone tries to open it! Ben Benest says: “please do get out there and enjoy a hack along Froggatt Edge: it’s mainly suitable for a gentle walk but So, keep your eyes open there are some sections where you can trot or canter. Parking and let Pete know if you see for individual horseboxes or trailers is possible on the highway anything or notice that a in Curbar village, just a short ride away, but riding clubs will gate has again been attacked have to make special arrangements to find parking for a group by the ‘nutter’. of boxes/trailers”. Call Pete on: 07585 903681 Lady Cannings Bridleway Roych The Roych is now permanently closed to motor vehicles. The Peak Park Traffic Regulation Order banning all types of motor vehicle was originally agreed in July 2013 but held up by DCC repairs. The Order was confirmed by PDNPA in January and is now finally in place. PHP is grateful to PDNPA Members for their determination in the face of vigorous and sometimes abusive opposition to the TRO from the offroading lobby. Bridleway Descending Trail Ascending Trail 1 Access Point The work on the new bridleway through Lady Cannings Plantation near Ringinglow is now complete and bridle gates and mounting blocks have been installed at the entrances. If you are boxing in to ride in the woods we would not The Roych advise using the parking spaces directly opposite the track as the access has some pretty horrendous humps which Long Causeway could be difficult to negotiate. Provided you can cope with The Peak Park has not yet been able to a short stretch on the road we would advise parking in the car park on Fulwood lane at the top of Porter Clough implement the decision it made in September (next to the Alpaca Farm) and riding back to Sheephill last year to put a permanent Traffic Regulation Road. Order (TRO) on Long Causeway. A longer ride would be to park at the other end of the This is because the Causeway currently has on it a Houndkirk BOAT, ride to Lady Cannings Bridleway and temporary TRO from Derbyshire County Council (banning return via the bridleway link to Houndkirk. only 4x4s, not motor bikes) pending the completion of http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=428500&y=38350 repairs. The difficulty has been that highway law says there 0&z=120&sv=ringinglow&st=3&tl=Map+of+Ringinglow,+S can be only one TRO on a route at any one time. DCC heffield+[City/Town/Village]&searchp=ids.srf&mapp=map. has now announced that it will get on with the repairs this srf summer and revoke the DCC Order in time for PDNPA to Further work is scheduled to complete the mountain bike get its own TRO in place by September. If PDNPA does not route and to put in a loop for disabled riders from the implement its Order by September 2014, the law says that Riding for the Disabled centre at Smelting’s Farm. it will have to start the TRO process all over again. There The ride through the woods is delightful and thanks go to is nothing so true in the realm of rights of way than the Sheffield City Council for creating a safe environment for old saying that ‘the law is an ass’. The DCC repairs will no horse riders. longer include repairs to the revetment designed to make it safe for heavy vehicles. Friends of the Peak District new offroading policy Friends of the Peak District has hardened its policy on offroading. Previously it took the position that 4x4s and motor bikes should be excluded only from green lanes which are particularly badly affected by offroading. It is now calling for offroading to be banned everywhere in the National Park. New legislation on offroading now on the agenda The campaign to change the law on offroading has been gathering pace and is having an impact. PHP and other organisations nationwide concerned about green lanes being trashed by 4x4s and motor bikes have been pressing for clauses to be added to the Deregulation Bill which would classify all unsealed unclassified county roads (UUCRs) as restricted byways. UUCRs are in effect green lanes but they are not on the Definitive Map as footpaths, bridleways, BOATs or restricted byways. On the OS map they are usually shown as Other Routes with Public Access (ORPAs). There are over 3,000 miles of green lanes like this in England and the unsurfaced routes in the Peak District being used by 4x4s and motor bikes are of this type. The effort to amend the Deregulation Bill is paying dividends. The campaign made sure that the Horses win Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny committee which examined the Bill at the end of last year received more evidence on the problem of motor vehicle use of green lanes than on any other aspect war against of the Bill. The Committee took notice, recognised that there is a serious problem and in its published report called on the government to take action and find a solution. gamers Next up was a debate in March in the House of Commons Committee which examined the A long-running attempt Bill. The debate showed that there is broad recognition in Parliament of the need for action on by war gamers to get green lanes. planning permission for The Government’s response so far has been to commit to ‘full public consultation’. Its current their activities in Parkers plan is to consult by setting up a stakeholder working group made up of offroading and anti- Wood near Brimington offroading interests in the hope that such a group will be able find a consensus solution in Chesterfield has been to motor vehicle use of green lanes - an outcome which is about as likely as pigs suddenly becoming able to fly. defeated. The war games involved people We are opposing the proposed consultation method as such a group is doomed to failure, will dressed up as soldiers shooting just waste precious time and it falls far short of the ‘full public consultation’ promised in the pellet guns and throwing smoke Government Response to the Report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Deregulation Bill grenades in woodland adjacent published in January. The campaign will therefore be pressing on with its attempts to amend the to horse pasture and a livery Bill as it goes through Parliament. stables. As well as noise and One thing is for sure: new legislation on offroading is back on the political agenda. smoke from explosions, the activity was resulting in plastic BBC Inside Out covers offroading pellets shooting across a track The BBC East Midlands Inside Out regional news magazine used by riders and falling on covered offroading in the Peak District in a broadcast on 3 grazing land. March. The programme featured a number of the lanes in the Chesterfield council refused Derbyshire Dales.