Lobby Your MP - Don't Let Greenlaning Become Illegal

[twiss]

Thanks guys, I've used your letter idea and added a bit to it relevant to west sussex...

You want a shocking statistic... in West Sussex there are 2576 miles of Rights of Way

9 of them are byways.... 0.35%

sucks

[NylonAdmiral]

Thanks Ladaman,

Hopefully it will make it easier for people to do something.

You're correct, we now only have access to a very small percentage of the unsurfaced public rights of way. It seems particularly cruel that they would want to take that from us too, especially when the antis already have an additional 109,000 miles of routes they have access to which we don't!

Your point about tracks becoming overgrown is also true and is something I went in to in more detail in my own letter.

Other points I covered were:

I'd volunteered to help with the flooding during bad weather.

Police forces have run recruitment campaigns to get recreational 4x4 users to assist during times of need.

If the proposals go ahead, people won't keep 4x4s, thus transferring further costs and responsibilities to the emergency services.

4x4 community groups also often offer to help repair and maintain byways.

By closing byways, Councils will lose all those benefits but will still have to carry the cost of keeping byways properly trimmed back.

[NylonAdmiral]

Woah Twiss that really sucks

Well hopefully we can all do something to help stop them closing any more!

[donkeychomp]

Downloaded and I will read/modify and send to my MP too. Around here we don't seem to have any problems, but that might all change. Not if I have anything to say about it it won't.

[dan_2k_uk]

Downloaded and I will read/modify and send to my MP too. Around here we don't seem to have any problems, but that might all change. Not if I have anything to say about it it won't.

If this goes wrong it will change on a national level, and for the very worst too!

[Furey]

Lately, hobbyists seem to have to spend all their time defending themselves from the government, no matter what government. What happened to the UK as the land of the eccentric?

[NylonAdmiral]

Claire Perry is my local MP and I had a response from her over the weekend. To her credit, it appears that she has actually written the reply rather than just copied and pasted some standardised party line on the issue.

To her discredit, my interpretation of this letter is that she's not overtly in favour of recreational 4x4 use. Below is the response I got from her. Below that is my response to her letter which I'll be posting tomorrow.

Claire Perry MPs response:

Thank you very much for your letter about the Deregulation Bill and possible amendments to the Bill in relation to motor vehicular use of unsealed reads [sic] and byways.

I completely agree with the points that you raise in relation to the positive contributions vintage motorcycle clubs and recreational motorcycling can make, in particular towards the rural economy; however there is also irresponsible use of 4x4s and motorbikes in the countryside and LARA, a well-known, recreational vehicle organisation, itself recognises this occurs. Indeed, it is of considerable concerns [sic] to local communities that are affected by it and to other users of public rights of way.

I know the Government position has been outlined in the Government Response to the Joint Committee report on the Deregulation Bill. The view is that all the issues need first to be fully debated and policy measures formulated for implementation, through legislation if necessary. In addition, any change to the current government framework for managing motorised vehicles should be the subject of a full consultation.

Finally, you are correct that some non-governmental amendments in relation to motor vehicles have been made to the Bill at the Committee stage in the House of Commons. I am sure you will be pleased to learn thaes [sic] have been resisted, but there may be further non-government amendments as the Bill passes through Parliament. As this is a carryover Bill, it will not enter the House of Lords until the next session of Parliament.

I hope you find this reassuring but if you have any remaining questions or if there is anything else with which I can assist you, then please do not hesitate to contact me again.

My counter response:

Dear Claire Perry MP

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my original letter. It was refreshing to read a letter from an MP, MEP or Councilor which didn’t feel like a weakly pasted template.

I note in your letter that you acknowledge the positive contributions of vintage motorcycle clubs and recreational motorcycling, but don’t acknowledge any of the positive aspects of recreational 4x4 use which I originally highlighted. In fact you only draw attention to the activities of the irresponsible behaviors of a very small percentage of 4x4 owners.

I think you will find that, like me, most people in the 4x4 community vehemently hate these irresponsible 4x4 owners as they give the other 98% much undeserved bad press.

Many of us actively try to distance ourselves from the irresponsible few. Every 4x4 owner I know voluntarily adheres to the code of conduct issued by GLASS whenever driving off road. We try to positively engage with land owners and other users of public rights of way. I have the phone numbers for land wardens on Salisbury Plain, and will willingly report irresponsible behavior to those land wardens or the police if witnessed away from the Plain.

Removal of vehicular access on public rights of way will be wholly ineffective. It will only punish the responsible 4x4 owners. The irresponsible minority ignore the current rules and will continue to ignore any additional ones.

I am aware that the proposed amendments were rejected but considering the course of events preceding the implementation of NERC in 2006, I feel it is important to remain active in the pursuit of maintaining vehicular rights of way.

In my first letter I also asked for a clear and decisive response on your position on this.

Are you in support or opposition of the maintenance of vehicular rights of way?

[Ladaman]

I've not heard back yet from my MP, but I was a short time after you in sending my letter.

For those of you who ARE genuinely interested in driving on green lanes, but get frustrated by the lack of public information, then do join GLASS. There is a whole heap of info available to members, all up to date and even info on lanes.

Well worth the joining fee, and you will be doing your bit to help fund their legal side of things.

[NylonAdmiral]

Thanks Ladaman, I've paid up and Dan2k has too.

I'll post whatever response I get back from my MP.

I think Dan just got a templated response from his but at least he took the time to write to his MP and register his opinion on the matter.

[Anton]

The thing that frustrates me the most is that any law passed that restricts us from greenlaning will have zero effect on the problems it is implemented to defend against - namely damage to the countryside caused by irresponsible offroaders (both on motorbikes and in 4x4's). And it completely ignores tractors and farm machinery, which often do damage, which is then assumed to be caused by 4x4ers.

The fact is that if someone is being stupid, selfish and irresponsible in the first place, legislating to stop him/her will do *nothing* except punish those of us who use greenlanes responsibly. A reasonable code of conduct is already in place, and the law already makes dangerous driving punishable. A more reasonable course of action is to monitor the lanes that have high incidences of bad behaviour, and punishing those who behave in an unacceptable manner.

That's possible with the co-operation of the 4x4 community, if we fit cameras to our vehicles and go greenlaning regularly - passing on footage to authorities where illegal activities are observed.

This one size fits all punishment of the whole community is unacceptable and will not result in less damage to greenlanes, if anything the idiots will do more damage deliberately as a middle-finger salute to the government/society/whoever.

Lets face it, legislation against bad behaviour never works unless it's properly policed, and this won't be.

So we'll be unable to lane, while the louts/idiots/asshats do as they please with little or no fear of reprisal or punishment.