Earlier this month I raised concerns on behalf of residents about illegal access to a popular and well-used public right of way along the Haswell to Hart walkway. This follows a previous complaint in a similar vein about off-road bikes and quads riding along the Black Path between Blackhall Colliery and High Hesleden.
It goes without saying that people are entitled to feel safe when using our public footpaths and open spaces wherever they are so I raised this as a matter of concern at a recent PACT (Police & Communities Together) meeting.
Please see full background details to the Black Path query here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/04/issues-from-pact-meeting-for-april.html
and the Haswell to Hart Walkway query here: https://robcrute-blackhall.blogspot.com/2023/05/illegal-access-on-public-footpaths-and.html
Since then I've received an update from the countryside team confirming that they're considering all options to prevent illegal access to the Haswell to Hart walkway:
Firstly I would like to say thank you for your message. We are aware that the current situation with the motorbikes and quad bikes is at a all time high, we are having issues across the full County.
Please rest assured that we are trying our best to combat the situation working with various teams including the police.
We are currently coming up with the most suitable and effective way to deal with the issues, so we can try combat the situation.
As the Railway Lines are multi user routes this is becoming quite the challenge as we have to allow access to bikes, horses and pedestrians whilst looking at ways to stop quads and motorbikes accessing the line.
I can only apologise for your recent encounters, as we aim to move forward and combat the situation.
I would like to ask and encourage you to call 101 each time you come across the issue, I appreciate this can be onerous however it really helps create a hot spot, leading to more patrols of the area.
Residents contact me quite regularly to express their concerns about vehicles driving along public footpaths and trespassing on public rights of way. In every case they insist they are not prepared to wait until an accident happens before something is done to end these illegal and dangerous practices. In response I've assured them that I'll do whatever I can to get the authorities to address their concerns and keep our public open spaces and footpaths safe.
After all, public footpaths and open spaces are there for everyone. And everyone should be able to feel safe when out and about - whether that's in the heart of our villages or the coastal and countryside settings surrounding them.
I'll update on progress as soon as I have any additional information from the authorities, but in the meantime please get in touch with me if you have any concerns or any comments about this issue: rob.crute@durham.gov.uk
