Green Lanes - The end of the road?

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Eamonn Townsend

Green Lanes - The end of the road?

Post by Eamonn Townsend »

The BMF, Britain's largest motorcycle riders' rights organisation, is urging its 140,000 members to lobby the government over the imminent threat posed by proposals to curtail the use of motorised vehicles in the countryside.

The proposals are contained in the government's consultation document; 'The Use Of Mechanically Propelled Vehicles On Rights Of Way' that could well spell the end to legitimate trail riding by thousands of law-abiding motorcyclists.

Having already issued its hundreds of volunteers with a comprehensive action pack containing briefing documents and suggested letters to MPs, the BMF has now made the pack available to all motorcyclists on its Riderspace website www.bmf.co.uk.

The pack supports the position agreed by the BMF, the Land Access and Recreation Association (LARA) and the Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF) in their submissions to the government, but it will add massively to the weight of the argument say the BMF, if individuals make their own contributions. The pack makes this easy by including all material necessary to write to Alun Michael, Minster of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); to their own MP and to the local press

Whilst the consultation paper on new laws and regulations affecting the use of 'byways open to all traffic' and other minor highways (often referred to as 'green lanes'), is designed to tackle illegal vehicle use in open country, footpaths and bridleways, the BMF is concerned that ill-informed legislation could curtail legitimate use of these ancient rights of way.

The BMF's campaign coordinator, Richard Olliffe, said: "For 100 years, the highways and byways of England and Wales have been explored and enjoyed by generations of motorcyclists but these proposals could change the face of recreational motorcycling for ever. It's time to act."

The BMF is also seriously concerned that the 'knock on' consequences could see ordinary on- road motorcyclists banned from areas such as National Parks and well-known biking roads.

Note: This change is part of the fallout from the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 - the Act that introduced the 'right to roam' for hikers across thousands of square miles of private land. The consultation period ends on the 19th of March 2004.
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