The green-laners among your members may be interested in this press release
just issued by LARA...

Press Release: 3 July 2008

The Motoring Organisations' Land Access and Recreation Association (LARA) takes the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority to the High Court over the decision to put permanent prohibition of motors orders on eight unsealed roads.

The use of 'recreational motor vehicles' on unsealed roads in the Yorkshire Dales National Park has been a contentious issue for many years. The Yorkshire Dales Trail Management Advisory Group (with members from a wide range of organisations) recommended a package of traffic control measures, each tailored to the specific situation of an initial set of eight routes:

After two rounds of wide public consultation, but not based on evidence, the Access Committee of the National Park Authority resolved in April 2008 to ignore its own officers' original recommendations, and to put full-time, permanent motor traffic prohibition orders on all these routes. LARA took Counsel's advice on the validity of the National Park Authority's decision and, consequent upon this has made an application to the High Court to have the orders quashed on eight grounds, including straightforward non-compliance with statutory requirements.

LARA's Member Organisations are not opposed to necessary and proportionate traffic regulation on unsealed roads, and actively pursue this in many places across Britain. The decision of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority rides roughshod over a great deal of hard work in finding a workable solution that allows motorists to share what is only a very small proportion of the National Park's unsealed rights of way.

The issues identified by LARA's legal team are applicable to almost all traffic regulation order cases, and clarifying and establishing the legal and procedural requirements that bind highway authorities will have a value way beyond the boundaries of the Yorkshire Dales.

Fighting this case is very expensive, win or lose. Everyone involved in motor sport and recreation is asked to visit LARA's website and make a donation to the Fighting Fund.

For further information, or to make a donation to the Fighting Fund, please visit www.laragb.org

LARA's Members are:
Association of Land Rover Clubs
Auto-Cycle Union
Amateur Motor Cycle Association
British Motorcyclists Federation
Green Lane Association
Motor Cycle Industry Association
Motor Sports Association
Trail Riders Fellowship

Yes, well, that's a good idea, I thought - the only problem is, the link to make a donation to the Fighting Fund is broken!

I see that the LARA office has moved to Knighton, which is only about 15 miles from here - praps I'll have to troll over and bung them a tenner!

John