National public consultation on use of green lanes by 4x4s and motor bikes - please take part and have your say.
Dear Walking Group
The government, via DEFRA, has launched a public consultation on the Glover Landscapes Review. You probably already know about this. I am writing on behalf of the Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement (GLEAM) to alert you to the questions in the consultation that bear on the use by recreational 4x4s and motorbikes of unsealed rural tracks - ‘green lanes’, as they are commonly known: ie Byways Open to All Traffic (BOATs) and unsealed, unclassified roads (UURs}, shown on the OS map as Other Routes with Public Access (ORPAs).
We know from our work with Parish Councils and local communities that 4x4s and motor bikes driving on green lanes is a serious issue countrywide, damaging precious landscapes, even in the National Parks and AONBs. And it is causing nuisance, sometimes danger, for walkers and other non-motorised users, as well as for residents, farmers and landowners. It is also clear that the current legislation which is supposed to control the use of recreational 4x4s and motor bikes on unsealed tracks in the countryside is failing.
The government consultation asks whether there should be new legislation to stop non-essential, recreational motoring on green lanes. We hope that both your walking club and your individual members will take part in the consultation and will want to call for an end to green lane motoring everywhere, but particularly in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The government’s response to the Glover review and the online consultation are at Government response to the Landscapes Review - Defra - Citizen Space . The questions about recreational motors on green lanes are questions 13 to 17.
If you don’t want to answer all the other questions in the online questionnaire, just click through to questions 13 to 17.
The consultation closes on 9 April.
There is a GLEAM briefing note about the consultation at GLEAM-briefing-Glover-Landscapes-Review.pdf (gleam-uk.org)
Best wishes,
Michael Bartholomew. (Chairman, Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement)
(gleam-uk.org)
