Wigley Lane. Photo: Cotic
A mountain bike company boss has described resurfacing work done on a popular cycling route as ‘vandalism’.
Cy Turner of Cotic Bikes in the Peak District said Wigley Lane near Longstone Edge is now more dangerous to riders.
But Derbyshire County Council said the byway, from High Rake to the hamlet of Rowland, was in a poor state and is used by horse riders and walkers as well as mountain bikers.
Mountain biking blogger John Horscroft said: “Wigley Lane runs from Bleaklow and High Rake to the village of Rowland and posed, until recently, a decent challenge.
“Now, exposed limestone bedrock has been covered with road-planings by Derbyshire County Council and technical singletrack has been converted into a flat, wide, all but uncontrollable descent.
“Furthermore, many outdoor enthusiasts were left mystified as to why DCC are able to bring entirely alien surfacing materials such as road-planings into an area of outstanding beauty and great environmental significance.
“Wildlife trusts, the Eastern Moors Partnership and other land managers ensure that they use the correct materials by liaising with Natural England. Are DCC somehow exempt?”
Mr Turner said: “It was obvious that the track needed some work to make it safe for other users, particularly horse riders, but this is vandalism.
“DCC have managed to destroy the challenge that existed and create a trail that is actually more dangerous for all users.
“The surface is breaking up and the unwary may find themselves travelling too fast and unable to stop on three inches of loose gravel.
“Surely it is in DCC’s interests to consult with user groups to prevent this kind of ill conceived maintenance?”
Mr Horscroft said: “The most depressing part of this is DCC’s high-handed attitude.
“The DCC website is full of fine words about consultation and involving all user groups but in this instance and recently on Stanage Causeway, there has been little if any consultation and an inevitable outcry has been the result.
“Ride Sheffield has made a number of overtures to DCC offering to consult at a moment’s notice when work is being considered, but they have been rebuffed at every turn.
“Is this any way for a public body to act?”
Councillor Andy Botham, Derbyshire County Council’s deputy cabinet member for jobs, economy and transport, said: “You can’t always please everyone.
“We accept that some people prefer a rocky route while others prefer a smoother surface.
“Wigley Lane is part of a network of paths for use by a range of people including cyclists, horseriders and walkers.
“We carry out maintenance on paths in greatest need of repair or with the potential to benefit the greatest number of users.
“We received complaints about the poor condition of Wigley Lane. The surface had been eroded by rain water making it impossible for some people to use.
“We can’t consult with everyone every time we carry out work on our routes but we work closely with partners including the Peak District National Park Authority, Natural England and two local access forums who give general advice on access issues.”
Steven Brown
23 August 2013Bureaucratic 'b@!!@cks' from the politician after acting without thinking!
Wilf
24 August 2013Cyclists complaining of vandalism? Kettle calling pan!
whinge
24 August 2013Devon highways are guilty too.
good news they have deteriorated over time with rain washing it away.
Claude Butler
24 August 2013Its not a mountain bike route, you have no voice. Ironically much of the erosion will be due to mountain bikes using the route and you are complaining that it has been made safe.
David S
25 August 2013Tbh i rode it last week, it is a bit skiddy, but not that bad. It will wear away in a year or so, so a bit of a waste of money by the council. Councils wasting tax payers money, that's a new one.......
Margaret
25 August 2013Exactly who has the "high-handed attitude" here?
Mike
26 August 2013Exactly what vandalism are cyclists committing, Wilf?
Margaret
26 August 2013Wilf might start with the often seen long skid marks down footpaths.
MickH
26 August 2013While I do think DCC may not have used an appropriate material for repairing this path, the Mountain Bikers don't have the monopoly on these tracks. Its not a dedicated MTB route so why are they getting their knickers in a twist. There's plenty of good footpaths that have been 'vandalised' by mountain bikers over the years.
YorkshireMike
27 August 2013They seem to try to justify it by saying that horses use the route as well, but horses hooves aren't designed for level tarmac. Ridiculous.
enjybenjy
28 August 2013Great, another chance for the ramblers to have a pop at the mountain bikers, it's great that this is all some of you frequent grough users have to moan about. Not familiar with the area, but the article states that the route is a by-way, thus it would also be open to motor vehicles. Walkers always twist on about the erosion caused by bikes, it's true, but any means of transport, including walking, over unprotected surfaces will result in erosion. In fact, you'll probably find that more widespread erosion is due to people travelling entirely on foot, you just have to look at paths to popular summits, or along ridges. I've never seen any bikes traversing An Teallach, but there are still eroded paths in places were those on foot decise not to tackle the entertaining scrambling options. The relatively modern phenomena of peak bagging (on foot) probably contributes to a greater proportion of erosion in sensitive upland habitats than mountain biking anyway. Just saying.......
enjybenjy
28 August 2013PS. Claude Butler? Hilarious! Don't you make mountain bikes???? Not a very good business plan..........
Tom
28 August 2013Ignoring the petty tit-for-tat point scoring, this work - along with many other similar projects in the Peak - has significantly altered the character of the track and the area. And that is a shame.
Fluff
08 October 2013Seems to be a lot of anti-mountain biker sentiment on these pages.
I see plenty of motorists driving irresponsibly every day. I don't however go on to automatically assume that all motorists are idiots. Every subgroup of society always has a few irresponsible elements - whether you are talking about walkers, bikers, or horse riders.
A fair few years ago, none of the people posting on here had the right to access peak district land. The groups of landowners wanted to keep access just for themselves. As I'm sure (hope) you all know, in 1932, a bunch of brave souls led by Benny Rothman (himself a keen cyclist) took part in the Kinder Mass Trespass - a pivotal moment in people getting access to the countryside. Ironically it seems that ~80 years on, some of the groups who benefit from the efforts of those pioneers now want to keep the countryside just for themselves.
Fluff
08 October 2013Regardless of people's allegiance to any particular sub group (and differing opinions around the aesthetics, environmental impact & long term sustainability of this work) we are all tax payers.
When Derbyshire County Council are being faced with having to axe public services and make 1600 people redundant to meet budget constraints, I find myself wondering if it is really such a pressing priority to invest £60,000 in this way? That sort of money could have kept a couple of policemen/women off the dole queue for another year....or been put towards keeping one of the axed fire stations open.
Alternatively there are many many local roads in a terrible state of repair that desperately need attention and undoubtedly impact a much greater number of people than this trail.
John Horscroft
10 October 2013Spot on Fluff. Do we have to indulge in petty point scoring every time mountain bikers try to make a perfectly valid point about inappropriate trail maintenance? This work is wrong on so many levels. It doesn't fit with the landscape. It imports foreign materials into a national park. They refuse to talk to user groups. It cost a flipping fortune! Mountain bikers are fully aware that some riders aren't exactly saints and are trying to address it through local groups like Ride SHeffield and PMBA. Surely it's time for walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders to make common cause against these council vandals?!
Flanflaneller
06 March 2014I appreciate that I'm reviving rather an old thread - but what perhaps some posters on the forum don't seem to realise is that "maintenance" of legal, popular and challenging trails in this manner (it's far from the only one to have been so "tamed" in the region) will have the knock on effect of driving more and more mountain bikers onto illegal footpaths in search of suitable challenges.
People can moan (justifiably in some cases; less so in others) about the vandalism caused by bikes on footpaths as much as you like, but people need to realise that cack-handed actions like this will only make the matter worse.