Peak District green lanes

[bluespanner]

Just got home from a lovely afternoon map reading and discovering a few new (to me) green lanes to the east of Buxton.

We then went up country a little and did chinley steps, then chapel gate. What a revelation! Somebody has made a lovely job improving both. The work on chinley steps look to be very recent, with the digger still parked up at the top. They have repaired all the damage caused by people bypassing the steps and also made the steps less sharp, which should mean people have no need to go round.

Well done to whoever was involved.

[Anderzander]

Chinley steps is I think another name for Roych Clough - which was permanently closed on the 19th of September and I think Chapel Gate has a TRO too.

You need to look at more than maps sadly - or you end up driving them illegally as you appear to have done....

[bluespanner]

Well should there not be a sign up at least?

[dirtydiesel]

There were very clear signs on both chapel gate and royce clough last time i was up there.

Did you get any pics of the repair on the royche?

[bluespanner]

There was nothing at either end of either yesterday. No, no pics. They have laid stones at the foot of each step, there are still steps but I'd say they were 5-6 inches at most. The quality of work is excellent, imagine a stone wall on its side, with all the pieces chosen so that they interlock.

[David Sparkes]

Remember there are two authorities that can issue TROs in the Peak District, Derbyshire County Council (DCC), who as the Highway Authority (HA) have the responsibility to maintain the roads in usable condition, and the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA, or 'Peak Park') who have taken it upon themselves to severely discourage 'recreational motoring' on roads with unsealed surfaces.

The recent TRO on Roych was by the DCC 'to protect the workforce' while maintenance work was completed. This was due to end on the last day of October, but has been extended by them until 22nd November, for the same reason. DCC have a habit of making a long TRO, giving themselves flexibility when they actually do the work, and the opportunity to either let the repairs settle, or go back and do additional work, without the bureaucratic costs of creating a second TRO. They say they erect the signs when actually on-site, and take then down (or cover them up) when not on site.

It should be made clear that a TRO cannot be enforced UNLESS it is signed, so on the face of it, the DCC approach is flexible, pragmatic, and causes minimum disruption to motorised users. In other words, the DCC approach is` 'fair', they should be commended for it, and we should respect the restrictions when they are working on site.

HOWEVER, the Peak Park 'total ban' approach has generated such a strength of ill feeling amongst 'motorised users', both car and bike', that any erected TRO signs have a very short lifespan, I'd guess less than 48 hours between erection and disappearance. Thus it's not unusual to find that no signs are on display.

It has become apparent that it is illegal to have two TROs in force at the same time on the same route. So the Peak Park are waiting for the DCC to confirm completion on 22nd November to start the notification period for the Peak Park to issue a TRO making a permanent ban against motorised vehicles on the Roych Clough route. The Peak Park have done the big lengthy public consultation, the 'delay' is just a notification period that 'We are masking this order'.

How the Peak Park are going to manage the 'sign disappearance' issue remains to be seen. The Police have already told the Peak Park, during the consultation period, that the Police lack the manpower to put strong enforcement procedures in place, but any sensible user should keep their eyes open for marked vehicles of the Peak Park Rangers and the National Trust, together with unmarked vehicles manned by walkers and horse riders.

HTH.

[bluespanner]

Looking at it, I'd say that work on Roych was more or less completed.