Nidderdale Herald, Friday 9th April 2010

 

Campaigners are calling for a crackdown on off-road vehicles churning up parts of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

 

The problem of 4x4 vehicles and motorbikes destroying the countryside has long been an issue across the county but is said to have intensified recently.

In Nidderdale the damage caused has become so severe that campaigners are urging North Yorkshire County Council to impose immediate Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to stop entire sections of moorland paths being destroyed.

Michael Bartholomew, of Yorkshire Dales Green Lanes, said one Nidderdale route, known as Deadman's Hill, has been so badly damaged by off-road vehicles that parts were now impassable on foot, but drivers have continued to carve new routes alongside the path.

"What should be a prized feature of a superb landscape has become a playground for motorbikes and 4x4s," he said.

"The peace and tranquillity that most people seek is regularly disturbed during the week and at weekends.

"Over the past few years, the rate of the route's deterioration has sharply increased and lengthy sections have now been utterly destroyed by the passage of recreational motorbikes and 4x4s.

"Strings of motor vehicles are constantly gunning their way up the steep sections of the track and sending their noise reverberating across the reservoir and round the valley."

Leanne Fox, information officer for Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, said: "The introduction of TROs is welcomed by us as overuse by recreational motor vehicles is causing serious damage to this special landscape. By making these orders it is helping to protect the area for the future."

Matt Neale, area ranger for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: "Off-roading is probably one of the most sensitive issues for national parks in terms of recreation.

"Even a small number of bikes in the wrong place can have a serious effect on both sensitive habitats and the peace and tranquillity of the area."

North Yorkshire County Council says it will examine the request by Yorkshire Dales Green Lanes to start the process of consultation over Traffic Regulation Orders.