Not Nice News

[spain]

From today's Times

Off-roaders banned on ancient lanes



Valerie Elliott, Countryside Editor


Winchester Many parts of the countryside are to be protected from the noisy invasion of motorcycles, 4x4s and quad bikes after a victory by green campaigners in the Court of Appeal.
In a test case, three senior judges backed an application yesterday by Winchester College to prevent ancient rights of way at Twyford Common, Hampshire, becoming open to all traffic.
The ruling - based on a technicality - may also safeguard the Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor, the Quantock Hills and many other places in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The case, which has cost Hampshire County Council an estimated £70,000, has been watched closely by councils and landowners who have been inundated with applications from off-road sporting organisations to claim historic rights of way for vehicles on lanes intended for walkers, riders and carts.
The organisations were allowed to do so under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
This legislation was intended by Parliament to halt the damage and destruction to green lanes in the countryside from motor propelled vehicles.
As a compromise to off-roaders, the Government agreed that claims could be made for rights of access if applications were made before January 20, 2005, and included historic proof of vehicular use of the path and a map showing the precise routes.
Yesterday's case centred on the technical detail of what qualified an application under the Act.
Winchester College and a neighbouring landowner, Humphrey Feeds, were seeking to overturn an earlier High Court ruling allowing traffic to use the lanes.

[Whealie]

I am doubly angry. I played cricket against Winchester College in the final of the Holts Lords Taverners Trophy, sometime in very early 1980s. My school was the first ever comprehensive school to reach the final.
Each Winchester College boy had a cricket bag the size of our school kit bag - few of us even had our own bats (I didn't and I opened the batting). They thrashed us, or course, and then, to add insult to injury, The Cricketer magazine got the name of our school wrong.
I suggest we plant our tanks on their lawn.

[spain]

Whealie...shame about the lose...we could all go back there and do an oil change on the Uni's cricket pitch.

[sean]

this will just make things wors in my opinion. why these arseholes are so narrow minded is beyond me. all that will happen is that people will no longer try and keep to legal routes.

[Xander]

this will just make things wors in my opinion. why these arseholes are so narrow minded is beyond me. all that will happen is that people will no longer try and keep to legal routes.

Exactly..(I am not suggesting this but)... Most people will try and stay legal if they have the choice.. but once everywhere is illegal then everywhere is game to those willing to break the law...Places where no one (by foot or otherwise ) should go. will get destroyed...

FFS GIVE US A PLACE TO PLAY!

[steveR]

this will just make things worse in my opinion. why these arseholes are so narrow minded is beyond me. all that will happen is that people will no longer try and keep to legal routes.

Yep, it is potty. We have seen this in Wales in some areas and also to an extent here in Shropshire. I am long out of the TRF after doing my stint of RoW for 5 yrs after 5yrs of Chairing the local group. After the CC got arsey and we seemed to be losing lanes left, right and centre, the group more or less folded and the local riders seemed to spend most time in Wales and riding where they could and bugger the legality.

Dunno if there is even still a local group??