Off-Road Vehicles and Damage to Unclassified Country Roads (UCRs) and Countryside
in Colton Parish

(last updated 30th November 2009)

Over the past few years, the damage to Colton's green roads and adjacent fell-sides by off-road traffic has become severe (see photos), and there has been an increasing number of incidents of bad, sometimes threatening behaviour, from off-road vehicle users (to report incidents of poor behaviour and illegal activity, see details below). Colton Parish Council has been lobbying the National Park, Cumbria Highways, the Cumbria Countryside Access Partnership and the Police in an attempt to find solutions, and is pursuing two key issues:

  1. Maintenance and repair of green roads: Damage to green roads (unmetalled, unclassified country roads - UCRs - where vehicles are legally allowed to travel) is now so bad that some are impassable for farmers who need to access their stock, directly affecting local livelihoods. Cumbria Highways have responsibility for repair, but their limited funds mean that these roads are extremely low priority. 

  2. Off-road vehicle user behaviour: Illegal off-road activity leading to severe damage to sensitive fell-side habitat, and bad, sometimes threatening behaviour to other recreational users and land-owners.

Over the past two years, Colton Parish Council has taken action and received associated responses as follows (most recent first):

(most of the links below are to Adobe PDF files)

Date Item
30th November 2009

Minutes of Colton's first Green Roads Working Group meeting, 17th Nov 2009
26th October 2009

report from CCC Cllr Wilson: Minutes of South Lakeland Local Committee Working Group on Highways and Transportation 30th September on repairs for UCRs. See Item 19.
15th October 2009

Response from Cumbria County Council to CPC's letter of 5th May 2009 (via Tim Farron MP) - .jpg image file
6th October 2009

Letter to the Trail Rider's Fellowship (TRF) from the LDNPA page 1,  page 2  .jpg image file (copied to Colton PC by the LDNPA)

23rd September 2009

Response from LDNPA to Colton Parish Council

19th September 2009

Letter to the LDNPA from the Trail Rider's Fellowship (TRF) (The TRF had been sent a copy of our letter to the LDNPA)
2nd September 2009

Letter to LDNPA from Colton Parish Council including a request for a temporary TRO on the High Nibthwaite to Parkamoor track (UCR 5051)
3rd August

Agreed initial actions arising from Colton Parish Council meeting 3rd August 2009
6th July 2009

Minutes of Colton's Additional Parish Council Meeting on UCRs
5th May 2009

Letter to Tim Farron with specific questions for Cumbria Highways
28th January 2009

Response from Cumbria Highways via Tim Farron MP (jpeg image)
16th June 2008

- Letter to Cumbria Highways from Colton Parish Council
- Annex to letter showing maps and photographs of damage

Off-Road Vehicles: Information and Reporting of Incidents

Responsibility for the management of trail routes and off-road traffic has now changed: the 'Cumbria Countryside Access Partnership' (CCAP) oversees all recreational needs, and off-road traffic now comes under the 'Motor-propelled Vehicle Sub-group'. (The LDNPA's 'Hierarchy of Trail Routes' (HoTR) scheme has been dropped.) The LDNPA have a representative on this sub-group. Park rangers are now responsible only for the day-to-day monitoring of traffic and effects. This means recording incidents reported in from local people, and advising them to contact the police if an offence has been witnessed.

There are 8 trail routes in Colton on Unclassified Country Roads (UCRs):

  • The Strands, Rusland Pool - (summer only - a Traffic Regulation Order operates between Oct and May) (U5566)

  • Force Mills to Thwaite Moss (U5062)

  • High Ickenthwaite to Nibthwaite Grange (Bletherbarrow Lane) (U5064)

  • High Ickenthwaite to Oxen Park (Peg Lane) (U5213)

  • Hulleter to Low Hay Bridge (U5216)

  • Colton Church to Moss Wood (BOAT/UCR U5203)

  • Colton Church to Old Hall Lane, Bouth (U5204)

  • High Nibthwaite to Low Parkamoor (U5051) - this is return-and-back - there is no access into Grizedale Forest.

How to report incidents and offences

  • Report any road traffic offences to the police on 01768-891999.
     

  • Also please also report offences, plus any notable incidents and behaviour (good and bad please) to Tony Hill (LDNPA Ranger, Southern Area) for him to log on the Trails Register.  Contact Tony (or his team) on: 01539-724555 or email tony.hill@lake-district.gov.uk (copy the email to: HQ@lake-district.gov.uk)

 

ANNEX TO LETTER TO HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY, June 2008

UNCLASSIFIED COUNTRY ROADS IN COLTON PARISH -  EXAMPLES OF DAMAGE

There are eight routes within the Colton Parish Council boundary, only one of which has vehicular rights extinguished on part of its length. They are (according to the LDNPA website):

1.          Bridleway/ UCR U5051 Grizedale to High Parkamoor (grid reference SO 336943 to SO 319926).  Since commencement of the NERC Act 2006, vehicular rights are extinguished from Grizedale to High Parkamoor. The section from High Parkamoor to High Nibthwaite (grid references SO 319926 to SO 294897) is a UCR only and the presumed vehicular rights will remain.

2.            BOAT/ UCR U5203 Moss Wood (grid reference SO 316861 to SO 327862). This is a Byway Open to All Traffic with proven vehicular rights and it will remain open to recreational vehicles.

3.            UCR U5062 Thwaite Moss (grid reference SO 341905 to SO 340897). This is just a UCR with presumed rights and it will remain open to recreational vehicles.

4.            UCR U5204 Old Hall Lane, Bouth (grid reference SO 326856 to SO 320861). This is just a UCR with presumed rights and it will remain open to recreational vehicles.

5.            UCR U5216 Hulleter (grid reference SO 331879 to SO 337876). This is just a UCR with presumed rights and it will remain open to recreational vehicles.

6.            UCR U5064 Ickenthwaite to Nibthwaite Grange (grid reference SO 315888 to SO 323895). This is just a UCR with presumed rights and it will remain open to recreational vehicles.

7.            UCR U5213 Oxen Park to Ickenthwaite (grid reference SO 319874 to SO 323894). This is just a UCR with presumed rights and it will remain open to recreational vehicles.

8.            UCR U5566 Rusland Pool (grid reference SO 332894 to SO 338891). This is just a UCR with presumed rights and it will remain open to recreational vehicles. The seasonal Traffic Regulation Order for the purposes of fisheries conservation will continue.
 

The location of these routes is shown on the following maps (blue lines are UCRs, red line us Colton Parish boundary):

Photographs

The photographs show examples of the situations described in the letter.  Each one is accompanied by a caption which includes the number of the UCR (1-8), the date taken, and a brief description of the point being illustrated.

UCR 1 - 10/06/08:
This road is now virtually impassable to 4-wheeled vehicles

UCR 6 - 10/06/08:
Well on the way to becoming impassable. Note the widening of the track by vehicles driving round damaged areas.

 

UCR 7 - 06/04/06:
Typical winter flooding (due to removal of road material) making route almost impassable for walkers

UCR 6 - 24/10/05:
Drivers create road widening to avoid rough track

UCR 7 - 28/12/05:
4 x 4 drivers have fun trying to get up steep slope (short-cutting hair-pin)

UCR 6 - 24/10/05
4 x 4 drivers have created a short-cut past the hairpin (to create a challange?)

UCR 6 - 10/06/08:
....which, over the years, has become the main route.


UCR 1 10/06/08:
Trail bike riders going off-route over sensitive peatland and important habitats

UCR 6 06/02/08:
4 x 4 drivers 'having fun' - scarring fields which would penalise farmers in agri-environment schemes.

UCR 6 10/06/08:

Broken flag culvert

 

Vandalised Sign

 

Damaged drainage