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Who causes damage to byways?

Whilst ANY use might cause damage, most byways have a metalled surface, often covered in 3" to 24" of silt built up in recent decades, where they were scraped several times each year at the turn of the last century.

Damage must not be confused with moving silt (that shouldn't be there)! A rut does NOT necessarily, and in fact rarely does equate with 'damage'.

A Landrover 90 specification gives a ground clearance of just 8.2".

A tractor has some 24" or more ground clearance. No contest!

Animal feed pens create deep (and smelly)

silt on this byway at Mason's bank, Kerry Ridgeway.

Compare leisure use to Agricultural use!

Agricultural use 'Off Tarmac' is at least 3,000 TIMES the

recreational use of byways

Agricultural Tractors use byways through all seasons,

and like here, is often followed by a 20 tonne trailer.

Some will say unsightly, yes! But the 'use' disappears into the field on the right,

beyond is a pleasant green sward byway, little used like most byways!

Banning ALL leisure traffic will not make one scrap of difference!

Everyone knows the tread pattern of a tractor. But when followed by a heavily loaded trailer, the resulting tyre marks are often confused as being an 'Off-Road 4x4' vehicle.

The countryside is a working, living workplace.

26 different vehicles planted potatoes,

but the volume of crops harvested was far heavier!

The byway is through the gate in the centre, the heavily used track

to the left is private!

A frequent cause of deep slurry, running along the byway.

The Private-Use track, joins the byway.

Is this why the Ramblers Association want to exclude the lighter, less frequent, less damaging leisure vehicles?

Ignorance of the real problems?

DEFRA's proposal's are certainly not fact-based legislation.

(Note: When a tractor is towing a heavy trailer, the tyre impression left is similar to a 4x4, not the distinctive tractor pattern. This is frequently misinterpreted as heavy recreational use erroneously)

Forestry vehicles, and specifically planting over ancient Rights of Way is a major cause of loss of ancient roads.

4-2-11

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06 04-02-11