Hampshire CC Vehicle right of way policy.

[catmandoes]

Hampshire county council has always been one of the least compromising councils when it came tolerating vehicle access to byways and green lanes.
Until recently their state policy was;

"The council declares its total opposition to the use of Green Lanes by motorised vehicles".

Last year it was decided to revise that policy and a new statment as just been issued. It certainly does not express
the Councils undying love for recreational vehicle users but neither does it seek to introduce blanket measures to ban them.
Hampshire county council is still however one of the most enthusiastic users of the TRO legislation with many lanes now having TRO's
or TRO's being considerd even on sustainable routes that have been in regular use for many years.



The county council recognise the rights that motor vehicle users have to access parts of the rights of way unsurfaced road network

The County Council does not encourage this activity but acknowledges that responsible use on some routes can be sustained.

The County Council will take action to Limit or prevent access by motor vehicles if this use is damaging to the route or
the local enviroment, or conflicts with the reasnoble intrest of wlakers, riders, cyclists or carriage drivers.

The County Council will prioritise repair and maintenance to benefit non-motorised users.

The county council will endevour to ensure that surface damage caused by private use of the route (eg agri or forestry vehicles)
is made good by those responsible.

The County council will work to promote responisble use and better understanding of the network by all users

The county council has the legal duty to record all public rights of way on the definitive map.

The County Council is totally opposed to unlawful use of motor vehicles on rights of way and unsurfaced roads,
and will work with the Police and others to prevent such access and to take action against offenders.

[RED PRED]

I got this email response to my enquiry from HCC today .

Dear Mr

I understand that you recently logged an enquiry with our Contact Centre
(Ref ) concerning the published list of Traffic Regulation
Orders (TROs).

To the best of my knowledge, the list currently displayed on our website
(http://www3.hants.gov.uk/row/making-changes/traffic-regulation-orders/c
urrent-tro.htm) contains all of the current TROs for Hampshire.

We are however currently processing a series of Orders for Temporary
TROs (six-month duration) on a further ten BOATs and these will come
into effect on 21st December 2007 - the advisory notices are in place
already and further signage will be erected once the Orders come into
effect.

The list of BOATs affected is as follows:

Ashmansworth BOAT No.18
Chawton BOAT No.10
East Meon BOAT No.42 (extension of existing)
Farringdon BOAT No.25
Farringdon BOAT No.26
Four Marks BOAT No.25
Hawkley BOAT No.24
Hawkley BOAT No.26
Rockbourne BOAT No.32
Whitsbury BOAT No.19a

I hope that this provides you with the information that you require

Yours sincerely


Network Development Officer
Rights of Way Office, HCC
Rm 200, Mottisfont Court
High Street
Winchester SO23 8ZF
Tel 01962 846891

Visit our website http://www.hants.gov.uk/countryside/row/info.html

Hampshire Rights of Way online http://www.hants.gov.uk/maps/paths

The pompey guys made be interested in the above

[secret solo]

have checked out existing restrictions and there is nothing there i didnt already know.
As for these new ones, this makes me so f**king mad. those f**king bobbled f**king hat brigade and local parishes asking for tro,s...
They are so stupid that they do not see that it is the forrestry commission and these morons with their 4x4,s farming pheasants that is destroying hen woods, not the solos, look further up the trail where the 4x4,s are not allowed and the track is in good condition and has been for such a long time.
Another trail is damaged by water, nothing to do with the vehicular use.
If it carrys on like this then it will be time to say screw the lot of them, remove number plates and illegally tear down all the tracks with total disregard for anyone since it is the whingers who seem hell bent on only allowing us the option to ride illegally.

[RED PRED]

:clapping::mad::clapping::mad:well said, for a moment I thought it was my writing, although I do realise this is no laughing matter, but hopefully I have provided a useful service with this warning .
I did not think they would get back to me, but if this helps anyone avoid being prosecuted then it was worth it .

[catmandoes]

Thanks for that Graham, thats useful info.

[upperdeane]

Just for interest, what would happen if we got caught riding somewhere we shouldnt (not that we do - its a theoritical question).....is it points on the license, fines or what? If fines only, how much are we looking at?....just trying to understand the risk reward ratios ?

Maybe we could even setup a publicity event riding somewhere we shouldn't to raise the profile ...mabe quad magazine could do a piece on us? I guess this would totally go against the groups principles though? Am I barking mad ? .....probably I hear you cry.

[secret solo]

it you are suspected of riding illegally off road (even if you were not) you will be issued with a section 59. It is a warning.If you get a 2nd one within 12 months then your vehicle is confiscated. Its around £130 to get it back plus £12 per day storage.
If you are caught riding illegally on an unregistered vehicle it is instantly confiscated and crushed.