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RIGHTS OF WAY
Welcome
The Rights of Way section of the North East
Wales Website is to provide both the latest
items of interest as well as on going
information for reference. Your input will be
appreciated as the subject covers a large area
and individuals will know what is going on
locally.
Please email
your questions as the need arises to
Edwina@edwinahart1.orangehome.co.uk
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Our Area covers
the Counties of Denbighshire, Flintshire and
Wrexham where there seems to be a lack of
understanding of the need for safe driving
routes for carriage drivers. The aim of our
Rights of Way is to provide information of
routes to drive, areas of interest as well as
gathering information for reference to be put to
the Local Authorities and your input will be
appreciated as the subject covers a large area
and individuals will know what is going on
locally. If we can identify safe routes used
regularly by carriage drivers, and if funding
was in place I would like to see a route leaflet
produced so that everyone will have the
opportunity to carriage drive these routes
safely.
Discrepancies and anomalies are being unraveled
on the Ordnance Survey definitive maps, and
claims of old carriage routes are coming to
light. It is a long and slow process. The
hardest part is identifying users and routes in
an area which is unknown to AC Janet or myself. |
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The Rights of Way Improvement
Plan (RoWIP)
This is is a document
every County Council had to produce for the
Welsh Assembly Government & should be available
for viewing on your County Council’s website.
In Denbighshire and Wrexham, because of work
done by your BDS Area, Carriage Drivers have
been recognised as a “user group”.
However Denbighshire are still of the opinion
that Carriage Drivers should use quiet
lanes and/or seek to set up permissive
routes with Landowners.
The RoWIP is designed as a follow-on strategy
year on year for ROW Departments to work towards
creating safe routes we can all enjoy.
1)
Quiet Lanes --- Have you
got one?
On the A5 side of Llangollen we have a single
track 4/5 mile country lane which is used by
walkers, cyclists and horses, ridden and driven.
Farm machinery is usually helpful and very
visible so can be avoided. Sadly cars and
motorbikes, can and do, legitimately travel the
same lane at 60 mph!!
Horse riders
and Carriage drivers in other parts of the
country have successfully lobbied for
Quiet Lane status and if you have a
similar lane in your area it is worth getting
together to approach your MP and the local
Councilor.
2)
Wide Bridleways – If your bridleway/s
is/are wide enough to take a Carriage ( at least
8 feet) then it has probably been a “Carriage
Way” these routes are some of the ones eligible
for the new category of Restricted Byway.
This has to be researched so, ---
3)
Stone Mastic Asphalt Flintshire CC
have recognised the problem of horses slipping
on this surface. If you mark the roads that are
causing a problem on a map and send it to them
(emphasize the safety aspect, how dangerous it
is if a horse comes down Ridden or Driven)
Visit Streetmap
www.streetmap.co.uk
& Put
in your postcode and get your map there
. |
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Flintshire Definitive Map
Area Commissioner
Janet sits on the Flintshire Local Access Forum
and as a member she has a copy. Any member who
resides in Flintshire or uses the Flintshire
lanes is welcome to see the map to ensure that
where you drive is shown. If you would like to
see the map email Janet |
KENT
GAP
With Restricted Byways (RB) becoming a
possibility, local authorities will be looking
for a means of preventing the illegal use
of them by motorised vehicles. One-way of course
is to use a Kent Gap so called because Kent
County Council used them to great effect for a
number of years, of course there is one downside
is that it does not prevent motor bikes but one
variant is being used successfully at Coed
Llandegla Forest where carriage drivers and
horse riders can access the trails from the car
park without opening gates.
What is a Kent Gap I hear you ask?
It essentially consists of a pair of smooth
concrete or wooden bollards 0.33m - 0.38m high
(13" to 15") and 1.52m apart (5') plus
a clear space of at least 0.6m (2') beside the
bollards on one or both sides.
The bollards can be reinforced by further
pairs 0.45m (18") in line with the first pair.
Any remaining space between banks or fences can
be filled with taller bollards. Bollards must be
firmly set into the ground to discourage their
removal. Most modern carriages will be able go
inside or straddle the bollards with care. A few
older carriages may have a difficulty, but if it
opens up a route instead of it being closed,
then this is a small price to pay. |
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LOCAL ACCESS
FORUMS
BDS Members representation: AC Janet Flintshire
& Wrexham AAC Edwina Denbighshire
Local Access Forums (LAFs) have been
set up in Wales under Act of Parliament to
advise local authorities, National Park
authorities, the Countryside Council for Wales
and the Welsh Assembly Government about
improving public access to land in their area
for the purposes of open-air recreation and the
enjoyment of the area. In giving this advice
LAFs must have regard to the needs of land
management and the desirability of conserving
the natural beauty of the area. The Forums
normally hold about 4-6 meetings a year. The
public are welcome to attend all meetings. Since
their initial formation in 2002/03, the Forums
have considered a wide range of issues. Their
remit is large and they have advised on all
forms of countryside access, including on foot,
horseback, cycling and motorised off road
access. They have spent much time advising on
the planning and management of the new right of
‘open access’ and improvements to the local
Rights of Way network. They have also considered
how to tackle problems such as the damage caused
by the illegal use of motorised vehicles in the
countryside and possible conflicts between
access and nature conservation. To find out more
about the LAF in your area you can attend one of
their meetings or obtain a copy of their annual
report. LAFs generally recruit every three
years. However, vacancies can arise at any time.
There are no set criteria for membership but
members should be committed to the function of
the LAF to advise on the improvement of public
access and they should be willing and able to
play a full part in all aspects of a Forum’s
work. Members are generally selected because of
their ability, through knowledge and experience,
to represent the interests of at least one group
of access users, land managers or owners, or
other issues relevant to access such as
conservation or tourism. It is desirable that
members reside in, are particularly familiar
with, or have any other interests especially
relevant to, the area of the Forum. |
GREENWAY
PROJECT
AC Janet
attended a meeting last Wednesday
re the Greenway Project, which is at the embryo
stage. The Greenway project is going to use the
old railway line from Mold to Saltney for
cyclists, walkers and horse riders and again
carriage drivers were not in their thoughts. I
asked if we were going to be included and their
first thought was that we would take up to much
room and there would not be enough room for
everyone to pass and a major issue was if they
let carriage drivers on how would they keep
motor bikes off so we need to come up with hard
evidence that these railway lines are wide
enough for all users, quote other areas where
they are used successfully by carriage
drivers how these areas police motor bikes and
most of all are there any members that use any
part of this old railway line to drive
along. There are three other areas they are
looking at in the future the old lines Mold to
Denbigh, Bala and possibilities of Mold to Coed
Talon. |
DISUSED RAILWAY LINES
We need to be at the beginning of the planning
stages old railway lines would be ideal to drive
along safely without traffic. If we do not act
now it these tracks will be lost forever to
carriage drivers. Please help and also if you
know of any disused lines in our Area
(Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham North Powys)
that are being used by horse riders or could be
used let me know so we can approach the relevant
authority to gain access. |
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