THE motoring lobby won a significant victory last week when the Lake District National Park Authority's rights of way committee voted to allow 4x4s and motorbikes to continue to drive and ride along green lanes in Little Langdale.

The committee was unmoved by stacks of evidence from non-motorised users of the tracks, from farmers, and from the National Trust, all calling for a traffic regulation order that would prohibit non-essential motor traffic from these beautiful tracks.

The motoring lobby's victory will, I am sure, be short-lived, and the 4x4 and motorcycle users probably know it. The public will not indefinitely put up with the damage and nuisance inflicted on green lanes by vehicle users who could perfectly easily leave their vehicles where the tarmac stops and enjoy green lanes on a horse, a bicycle, or their own two feet, thereby reducing their impact and preserving the peace and tranquillity that is an essential characteristic of the national park.

Eventually, the LDNPA will have to respond to public pressure. Better that it yields now, rather than wait until the pressure becomes overwhelming.

Michael Bartholomew

Chairman, GLEAM, the Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement

Otley