Friends of Ramsden Road

Ramsden Road is an iconic byway open to all traffic in the Holme valley region of West Yorkshire.

This is an area the Green Lane Association have been very active in for some years now promoting responsible driving of these unsurfaced rights of way. The area has suffered in the past from irresponsible activity ranging from off-piste driving to blatant illegal driving on open moorland where no vehicular rights of way exist and the Green Lane Association has worked with a number of partner agencies (WY Police, Peak Park Rangers, Yorkshire water, gamekeepers and local residents) to counter and discourage these Illegal activities.

Several ‘awareness days’ have been held by the Green Lane Association with these partners where time has been spent on the lanes talking to motorised users to promote responsible and sustainable driving.

Ramsden Road Closed!

In November 2018 an unexpected experimental traffic regulation order (ETRO) was imposed by Kirklees Council on Ramsden Road. After legal challenges by both the Green Lane Association and the TRF this ETRO was revoked.

After a public meeting in January 2019 (organised by Kirklees Council), which was well attended by all user groups and local residents/landowners, a group was set up to explore potential repairs and maintenance – the birth of “Friends of Ramsden Road”

This group has been meeting regularly since then and have progressed well with the remit given by Kirklees.

The Group

The group is now firmly established with a constitution, committee (on which the Green Lane Association are represented), bank account and as well as looking at repair/maintenance work have started fundraising.

Site Surveys

Several site surveys have been carried out and the proposal is for a phased program of work to address the issues of water drainage and erosion of the surface. It is widely agreed that damage to this right of way is not caused by motorised use but by water erosion.

Phase 1 is identified as the top (NE) relatively flat section of the route – without addressing drainage issues here the lower/steeper sections cannot be repaired sustainably.

A quote for work on this section has been obtained from a contractor experienced in this type of work (and who are already an approved contractor to Kirklees Council). This has been submitted to Kirklees and at present we await their response.

Future Activities

The group will continue to work with Kirklees council to make sure that repair works are carried out (with funding for these works from Kirklees).

As appropriate, once works commence, organisations involved are committed to providing volunteer labour.

With the establishment of this ‘Friends’ group we have a great opportunity to show what can be done when all user groups, local landowners and residents come together to work alongside the local authority to restore a right of way to good order and repair.

The Green Lane Association is at the heart of this project and are fully committed to this project and our hope is that ultimately this could be the perfect example of “best practice” in relation to the collaborative repair and maintenance of rights of way.