WHY The Green Lane Association?
Recreational motorsport has been around since the invention of the very first motor car. The early motor car would have had to drive on unsurfaced roads, which in some cases may must have been quite a test. Back then, cars were crude and were built with tall and narrow tyres and good ground clearance, they needed it to be able to get about! However, as time moved on, vehicles have improved and changed, as have our roads.
Green lanes are historic, they have been there for hundreds of years, long before the motor car was created. They were originally used by pack horses, carts and also carriages. Eventually over time, as roads improved, and the stream rollers left their slick black marks all over the country, dirt, flint and stone tracks dwindled in number. Yet, a number escaped the fate of being covered in tarmac.
The Green Lane Association is dedicated to preserving what is left of the unsurfaced road network, so that those roads can be enjoyed by all users, not just the recreational vehicular user.
The Green Lane Association was formed in 1995 by a small group of 4x4 enthusiasts in the South of England and South Wales, who realised that their hobby was under threat. The continued lack of budgets to maintain old roads was very apparent even back then, and the lack of the internet meant knowledge was hard to come by – many unsurfaced roads not even being marked on OS maps. These enthusiasts set about doing what they could to preserve the old network of roads.
22 years later, we are still mainly a voluntary organisation with minimal overheads. We operate as a professional, not for profit company, and we represent green lane users of every variety. We now campaign at Government level and we have a team of representatives nationwide who work locally to protect our lanes. Not only do we campaign but we fundraise to carry out repairs, and we can offer insured volunteers to carry out basic maintenance on lanes with Local Authority approval.
Another aspect of The Green Lane Association is that we will, if necessary, take legal action against anybody who we feel is not complying with the law in their duty to keep lanes in a usable state. This is a last resort when all other avenues of communication have been exhausted.
The Green Lane Association is here to look after the interests of all green lane users. Please consider joining us today, and help us to look after our heritage for many generations to come.
The Green Lane Association – be a part of it.