§ The Lord Bishop of Oxfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they propose to take to prevent the Ridgeway National Trail becoming more rutted and muddy through use by vehicles other than farm vehicles. [HL615]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)The legal status of the Ridgeway National Trail allows vehicles to use most of its western half. The Countryside Agency has responsibility (along with the local highway authorities) for implementing and protecting the trail and, in addition to the maintenance work that they carry out, they have developed a Code of Respect for the Trail. Among other things the code asks users of vehicles to:
- respect the rights of others;
- limit use when the surface is vulnerable during and after wet weather;
- avoid using the trail if another route can be found and developed;
- keep to well-used parts of the track to prevent damage to the whole width;
- reinstate the surface where possible;
- drive quietly and carefully in groups of no more than four vehicles (eight for motorcyclists);
- use the trail when it is less busy; and
- watch for and respect temporary voluntary restraint signs.
The agency has also reached an agreement with the Motoring Organisations' Land, Access and Recreation Association—LARA—that if the agency, or a member of the public, gives them the number plate of a vehicle breaking the code, LARA will do all it can to sanction those drivers.