Long Causeway at Stanage is one of the routes under consideration. Photo: Michael Ely CC-BY-SA-2.0

National park bosses are seeking the views of walkers’ and cyclists’ organisations on whether to restrict vehicle use on two green lanes.

The Peak District National Park Authority has started a 28-day consultation with bodies such as the Ramblers, Open Spaces Society and Peak and Northern Footpaths Society over possible changes to regulation on Long Causeway and Roych Clough.

Long Causeway passes along Stanage Edge, one of the Peak District’s most popular climbing venues, before passing Stanedge Pole towards Redmires.

Roych Clough, north-east of Chapel-en-le-Frith, forms part of the Pennine Bridleway national trail.

During the consultation groups are being asked if traffic regulation orders are needed or not. Groups and bodies which say orders are needed will then be asked to consider what form they should take and how long they should be in place.

Groups and bodies which say they are not will be asked what other measures should be put in place instead to prevent further damage to these sensitive landscapes.

Once all the relevant bodies have been consulted members of the Peak District National Park Authority’s audit, resources and performance committee will consider the issue on 20 July.

Committee chair Christopher Pennell said: “Long Causeway and the Roych are routes identified as priority areas where we are looking to improve the management of green lanes.

“User groups on all sides are agreed that these sites need managing in a better way and this consultation gives them the chance to highlight the ways they would like to see this done.”

The authority said the current consultation is potentially the first stage of a lengthy legal process and interested individuals can only make comments through one of the recreational user groups or statutory bodies.

A list of these can be found at on the authority’s website with links through to the contact pages on their websites.

It added that, to comply with strict legal processes that have to be followed individual comments sent to the Peak District National Park Authority cannot be considered at this stage. Anyone ignoring this request will have to re-submit their comments during any later public consultation.

The work is part of the authority’s recently agreed policy and procedure that sets out how it will manage the use of green lanes by recreational vehicles.

The plan focuses on managing 24 priority routes used by recreational vehicles in the Derbyshire part of the national park. “Where there is a conflict with the conservation of the special qualities of the national park then action will be taken, including the appropriate use of traffic regulation orders, which can restrict or ban traffic from the most sensitive routes,” a spokesperson said.

The authority is currently spending an extra £100,000 over two years to deliver the improvements contained in these action plans, tackle illegal use of the countryside by vehicles and improve communications to all users about the issues of managing green lanes.