Leys Lane makes its way uphill from Great Longstone. Photo: Roger May CC-BY-SA-2.0

Leys Lane makes its way uphill from Great Longstone. Photo: Roger May CC-BY-SA-2.0

Motor traffic could be banned from another Peak District byway under proposals by the national park authority.

Members of the public are being asked for their views on banning trail bikes and 4×4s from Leys Lane, near Longstone Edge.

The Peak District National Park Authority has already consulted with highways authorities, parish councils, recreational user groups and environmental groups. Its audit, resources and performance committee, which will make the decision, has also held a site inspection.

The authority is making the proposal because of the impact motorised vehicles are having on the special qualities of the national park in this green lane and the surrounding area as well as on other users.

At the end of last year Derbyshire County Council resurfaced the lane.

It opened a public consultation yesterday, which will run for six weeks.

The route runs along a narrow walled byway from Great Longstone to Longstone Edge and Cherpit Lane.

Committee chair Christopher Pennell said: “We want to hear everyone’s views before we make our final decision in the light of feedback and evidence.”

The traffic order on The Roych will take effect next week. Photo: Michael Ely CC-BY-SA-2.0

The traffic order on The Roych will take effect next week. Photo: Michael Ely CC-BY-SA-2.0

The authority also announced a traffic regulation order on the Roych green lane near Chapel-en-le-Frith, will come into effect on Thursday 19 September.

Motorised vehicles such as trail bikes, quad bikes and 4×4s will be excluded from a 3.5km section of the Roych, which is part of the Pennine Bridleway national trail.

Some 1,235 people and organisations supported the exclusion, with about 1,000 objections. It does not include motorised disability scooters or farm vehicles.

Mr Pennell said: “Making the order at the Roych was the culmination of a long process but we needed to protect this environmentally sensitive area of the Dark Peak.

We considered the potential for partial restraint but felt that for this route it was important to ensure we adequately safeguarded the route, the special qualities of the area and the amenity of national trail users from the pressure of motorised traffic.”

The committee will consider options for another green lane, the Long Causeway at Stanage, near Hathersage, at its meeting on Friday 20 September. This follows a public consultation earlier this year.

Stanage Edge is a honeypot for climbers and attracts cragrats from across the globe. The crags are part of the North Lees estate, which is at the centre of the Stand up for Stanage campaign being led by the British Mountaineering Council over fears about a future sell-off of the site by the park authority.

More information on the Leys Lane consultation is available on the Peak District National Park Authority website.

Some articles the site thinks might be related:

  1. Women’s climbing gathering moves to Manchester with October date
  2. Patagonia talk by mountaineering boss Dave Turnbull will help Peak Friends
  3. Mountaineers fear new National Trust charges will hit outdoor leader training
  4. Forest panel deadline nears for public’s views
  5. Security closures will follow opening of English coastal path