Right Pc Kev Lowe has just called me back and to be honest this Op Blackbrook doesnt sound to bad, What they do is target areas that are know hotspots for off piste driving and areas where the residents and 4x4 drivers have clashed which to be fair is a good thing really.The Officers go out with reps from GLASS and educate drivers, walkers, cyclists & horse riders about the use of legal byways and they are more than willing to check routes for you if your planning to do a run and if necessary offer you alternative if the routes have tro's on them.
There main worry is the rise in uninsured 4x4's using local quarrys and farmland and straying onto bridalways and footpaths.
I have been invited to join them next sunday for the day to see the operation in action so i'll post up more info then, but for once i feel like the police are doing something positive and i'm all for it, if it helps things improve and makes a days laning more enjoyable.
bearing in mind next Sunday is after the Saturday pub meet you meeting a copper probably aint a good idea if you want to keep your driving liceince
 
Right Pc Kev Lowe has just called me back and to be honest this Op Blackbrook doesnt sound to bad, What they do is target areas that are know hotspots for off piste driving and areas where the residents and 4x4 drivers have clashed which to be fair is a good thing really.The Officers go out with reps from GLASS and educate drivers, walkers, cyclists & horse riders about the use of legal byways and they are more than willing to check routes for you if your planning to do a run and if necessary offer you alternative if the routes have tro's on them.
There main worry is the rise in uninsured 4x4's using local quarrys and farmland and straying onto bridalways and footpaths.
I have been invited to join them next sunday for the day to see the operation in action so i'll post up more info then, but for once i feel like the police are doing something positive and i'm all for it, if it helps things improve and makes a days laning more enjoyable.

Sounds ok mate very interseted to see what you think after next sunday with them
 
Just recieved e-mail update....probably outcome from meeting....copied in full below....dont think pics work

Staying on the Right Track
Vehicles in the Countryside in the Peak District National Park




Update – July/August 2010

Update on Specific Routes
Significant progress has and is taking place on many routes in the Peak District National Park. This work seeks to manage, to inform and to educate. All partners in this process wish to remove illegal use, to ensure that information on legal status is clear where possible, and that challenging issues are dealt with intelligently and clearly.
The fruits of this work are being seen on several routes; where management proposals are coming together, where illegal use has all but been removed, and where information continues to be published both on site and through other media such as this newsletter.
This edition of Staying on the Right Track gives an update on many lanes where work has and is taking place, and will continue to do so.

Action Plans
The 23 ‘priority’ routes in the Peak District National Park have been identified for closer inspection and action. The list below details what actions have been proposed and are taking place now.

Top 8 Routes
Action plans have been prepared for each of the following routes and implementation is taking place now. The proposed actions are detailed below, together with the present situation.

Bradley Lane, Pilsley
Derbyshire County Council’s consultation on a proposed Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) ended on 16 July. The consultation proposed stopping the use of Bradley Lane by motor vehicles and horse-drawn carriages on the grounds of:

• Avoiding danger to people or traffic using the road
• Making it easier for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders to use the route
• Preserving the character of the lane and improving the amenity of the area.
Derbyshire County Council is now assessing the responses received.

Brough Lane
The PDNPA has produced revised costings to repair parts of this lane. Derbyshire County Council has secured £30,000 to carry out repairs to green lanes in 2010-11 and part of this fund will be used to repair the large pothole on the lane, and clear back and level the adjacent land.
The steeper northern sections of this route will be cut back. Larger stones in the surface of the route will be removed and drainage will also be improved.


Chapelgate
Funding for repairs has not yet been identified, the Local Access Forum (LAF) vehicle sub-group will now debate the immediate future of this lane in light of funding being unavailable at the present time and their recommendations will be put to the highway authority.

Long Causeway
The Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) has produced revised costings to repair parts of this lane. Derbyshire County Council will use part of its funding to carry out major repairs to this route; installing drainage, resurfacing sections with the worst damage. Volunteers will be sought to help manage these repairs in the future.

Moorlands Lane, Bonsall
Minor improvements required by the action plan have been re-costed by the PDNPA and will be implemented from identified funds if possible this financial year.

School Lane, Great Hucklow
Management of this lane is in the hands of Derbyshire County Council’s Highways Team, who are investigating a safety plan for the lane taking into account access to the school nearby.

Shatton Lane
Works to monitor use levels and sustainability of route continue. Monitoring the illegal use of Restricted Byway 5 and enforcement operations are continuing as necessary.

Washgates
Derbyshire County Council’s consultation on a proposed Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) ended on 16 July. The consultation proposed stopping the use of Washgates by motor vehicles and horse-drawn carriages on the grounds of:

• Avoiding danger to people or traffic using the road
• Making it easier for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders to use the route
• Preserving the character of the lane and improving the amenity of the area.

Derbyshire County Council is now assessing the responses received.


Next 7 Routes
Significant work is taking place on these routes as action plans are prepared. Local Access Forum (LAF) surveys are nearly completed and a meeting is being held in early August between the group and officers to make a series of recommendations for each route. Work has already been carried out on several routes or been part of wider works, and use on all the routes has been monitored for some time to ensure that usage patterns are clear. Each of the lanes has been regularly inspected to ensure that any deterioration is addressed where possible.
These routes are as follows (actions that have taken place already are indicated in brackets):

Brushfield – Upperdale NCH (Information signs installed in 2009. Operation Blackbrook operations taking place regularly on this lane).

Castleton - Pin Dale (A partnership of users, the police and relevant authorities - including the Peak District National Park Authority - has sought to address damage to adjacent protected land and ensure users know where the legal route crosses land. Boulders have been put in place to block illegal access and Natural England is about to install further barriers and signs to prevent trespassing. Operation Blackbrook has visited the site regularly and multi-agency operations involving vehicle user groups and other parties have taken place to prevent illegal trespassing on the neighbouring Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Work has also taken place to clearly indicate the correct line of the road through the quarry.

Great/Little Longstone - Chertpit Lane BOAT (Status resolved as a Byway Open to All Traffic (BOAT) in 2010. Local residents are working with user groups to seek a voluntary restriction of use over the summer months by vehicles).

Stoney Middleton – Black Harry Lane

Bamford CP – Bamford Clough

Peak Forest – The Cop (There is no legal through route for public vehicles along this route. Although trespassing has taken place in the past it has currently stopped).

Tideswell - Monksdale Lane (The reclassified bridleway section of this route has been subject to an action plan to inform users that the route through Monksdale Farm no long has any vehicle rights. This work has been a success and is discussed later in this newsletter).

The Roych
The work of managing green lanes has to be continually flexible. Natural England has raised concerns about the deterioration of the Roych. After on-site inspections and a review of the routes it has been proposed that the Roych, which was previously to be considered in the final batch of routes to be managed, requires more urgent attention. This action will be proposed at the LAF meeting in early August.

Final 7 Routes
Loggers are being used to monitor use of these routes, and action is taking place on Minninglow and Gallowlow Lane, Ballidon (see below). All routes are regularly inspected to ensure they are not deteriorating. . The final routes are:

Eyam – Riley Lane

Taddington – Sough Lane

Birchover – Clough Wood NCH (Some repairs have taken place to this highway since the original survey)

Wheston CP – Hay Dale (Some repairs have taken place to this highway since the original survey)
Ballidon – Minninglow Lane/Gallowlow Lane (Subject to proposed voluntary restriction – Winter 2010 – see special update report)

Eyam – Nether Bretton NC

Monyash – Derby Lane


Minninglow/Gallowlow Lane - Ballidon - Special Update Report
This unsurfaced route is part of a popular circuit using an old packhorse route from Hartington to Wirksworth, and which is mentioned in Peakland Roads and Pathways (A.E. and E.M. Dodd). The popularity of the route with vehicle users has, in all likelihood, contributed to the lane becoming deeply rutted across its entire width. Local farmer Mr Edge has repaired the initial 500 metres, which was the most heavily rutted section, and the remaining part of the lane has been subject to discussion with the other landowner Mr Cooper. Our intention is to repair the remainder of the route over this autumn and next summer, using a combination of contractors and voluntary labour. We are currently in discussion with the Peak and Derbyshire Vehicle User Group (PDVUG) to seek a voluntary agreement to keep traffic off the route over this coming winter (1 November – 30 April) to give the lane time to recover. We will then look again at the lane next summer with a view to its ongoing management.
We would like to thank Mr Edge for his excellent work on the lane.

Illegal Use
Where illegal use has been identified or reported, use has been logged and information shared with the police. Illegal use can range from around 150 vehicles per month at the very worst sites to one or two vehicles per month.
Three categories of action are taken:

• Where use is considerable, action plans are prepared and works implemented on the ground to deal with illegal use, the site is continually logged and subject to ongoing police operations.

• Where a medium level of use is found, police operations take place as part of Operation Blackbrook. Monitoring of the site continues to assess the success of this.

• Other sites are routinely patrolled, logged and information passed to the police for them to act upon.

A small sample of the 60 or so illegal use sites we have had reported to us, and the success or otherwise of actions, is listed below. Further actions are taking place at several locations. If in doubt about the status of any route please get in touch with us.
Use figures are per 28 day period month.

Abney Restricted Byway 5. From a recorded use of 229 vehicles per month in 2008 to 34 in the last confirmed data in May 2010; a reduction of 85%. A blip of 26 vehicles took place on 7th February 2010 reminding us that we must continue to educate drivers and riders and continue enforcement at all sites.

Foolow Bridleways at Silly Dale From a recorded use of 55 vehicles per month in July 2009 to 15 in March 2010; a reduction of 70%.

Hassop Restricted Byway 6 From a recorded use of 60 vehicles in April 2009 to 27 in December 2009; a reduction of 60%

Moss Road Totley Moor From a recorded use of 143 vehicles per month in May 2007 to 18 in March 2009; a reduction of 90%. The pictures show the route before and after our work to remove illegal use and repair the road.

Pindale, Castleton Backed by a strong commitment from the Peak and Derbyshire Vehicle User Group (PDVUG) to prevent illegal damage to an SSSI next to the road the correct legal line has been clearly signed, and boulders placed at illegal access points by PDVUG volunteers. Use is being closely monitored to ensure the success of this operation over the coming years.









Rowland Restricted Byway 6/ Great Longstone Restricted Byway 23 Our work with the parish council and other partners to remove high levels of illegal use (around 150 vehicles per month) has just started. Signs are being installed, the route cleared and improved to encourage legitimate use and regular Operation Blackbrook patrols are being proposed.
The picture shows the lane after Peak Park volunteers cleared the lane to encourage use by local riders and walkers. Volunteers also removed a large number of stones which made the lane difficult for horses to use.

Houndkirk Road, Sheffield - Special Update Report Trespass onto the moor and associated damage is shown in the first photo, the second shows major repairs to the moor taking place, and the final image shows the site today. A partnership of action, involving PDVUG, Natural England, Sheffield City Council and our staff, has resulted in the damaged moor being repaired, and a major re-surfacing of the road itself. We are now monitoring use, and if illegal use occurs again off the road and onto the moor, we will press Natural England to seek a maximum fine of £20,000 on people damaging the protected moorland.






















Tideswell Bridleway (Monskdale Farm) Illegal trespass not presently an issue.

Winster Restricted Byway 10 High levels of illegal use (around 100 vehicles per month) are being addressed.

In each case, work involved a partnership approach with landowners, local police and the Highway Authority. Signage and barrier works (if required) have been maintained, and use has been continually logged. This work is ongoing here at and at many other sites across the Peak District National Park.

Information and Signage
It is vitally important that users know where to go legally and have clear information about issues at particular sites.
Advisory signs (shown) have been put up in the following lanes:

Beeley Hill Top (a very popular route with all users with narrow sections and blind corners).

Brushfield (where a small number of users are leaving the trail and damaging farmland, causing issues for all other users. Where the lane is very narrow and steep in parts, and where property is passed through.

Rowland (where a green lane passes through a narrow village road and along a narrow enclosed route).

Tideswell Lane, Eyam (where local residents were concerned about the speed motorbikes were reaching on a narrow lane with several blind corners).

We will continue to erect advisory signs where we feel there is a genuine need for advice to be given on site, and try to ensure the signs are located where they will have maximum impact and enables all users to being informed all users of any issues.

Voluntary Restraint
We welcome discussion with the PDVUG, LARA and landowners to consider the experimental use of 2 voluntary restrictions. The two lanes being considered and the reasons for proposals are:

Chertpit Lane, Little/Great Longstone (proposed voluntary restraint of narrow lane over summer being discussed between the parish council, local police, and PDVUG, with clearance work proposed to be undertaken by PDVUG)

Minninglow/Gallowgate Lane - Ballidon - see Special Update Report.

The Roych, Chapel/Castleton we would like to thank PDVUG for their help is organising voluntary restraint on this route during the worst of the winter.

Peak District National Park Authority © 2010
 

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