New Legislation on Motorised Vehicles' Access to Green Lanes

The Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Bill has completed its passage through Parliament and received Royal Assent on 30 March. Part 6 of the Act has now come into effect and it closes the loophole whereby unsurfaced tracks could become Byways Open to All Traffic (BOATs) for the use of motorised vehicles on the basis of historic use by horse and cart. As first drafted, this legislation would have been totally ineffective as all existing claims for new BOATs would have been exempt and a year's grace would have been allowed after the Bill became law, so allowing even more claims. The prospect of impending legislation had caused a huge upsurge in BOAT claims all over the country before the Bill was even published.

In the Spring of 2005 an informal coalition of organisations (including CPRE) was formed, called the Green Lanes Protection Group (GLPG), with the general aim of protecting the countryside from unsustainable recreational use by motor vehicles and the specific objective of trying to achieve the effective enactment of the NERC Bill. Thanks to the sustained and meticulous hard work of a few dedicated people negotiating on its behalf, the GLPG has achieved astounding successes which would have seemed impossible at the outset.

Only those claims for new BOATs lodged before 20 January 2005 will now be exempt from the new legislation, apart from very limited exceptions. This removes the threat of about 160 new BOATs in Hampshire alone, leaving less than a dozen (not counting claims which are currently under investigation) on Hampshire County Council's waiting list. The situation in Hampshire has thus been transformed.

There are technical provisions protecting vehicular rights over what may be regarded as 'ordinary' (minor) roads. Otherwise all RUPPs (Roads Used as Public Paths) will become Restricted Byways on which it will be an offence to drive a motorised vehicle. There are special provisions covering cases where properties are accessed by RUPPs. The GLPG still has some work to do but it intends to produce detailed guidance notes in the next couple of months.

April 2006