jimw Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 I've just been up to Addingham today and the farmer has told me that he is due to be summonsed to court for continuing to allow trials riders to practice. He told me last week he was trying to do a deal to allow practicing at weekends and on Wednesdays but it seems that this has come to naught. It seems there is a serious risk that Addingham will only be allowed to used 14 days per year (presumably for events) and that we won't be allowed to practice. I know that in the past threats to Addingham as a practice area have come and gone but it seems that this time it may actually occur. The problem is that I can't get any hard info off the farmer as to who is trying to obtain the ban ( presumably a neighbour via the local council). Anyone else in the know? With practice venues under threat all over the UK we really should try to keep Addingham open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 why are you asking who is making the complaints, are you intending to pay them an unsocial visit? the farmer sounds very pro biker he will let you know what he wants to happen, its not a witch hunt for the complainee, and i suspect the last thing the farmer needs is a couple yobs threatening the person/s who have complained - no offence. all you can do is wait for the farmer to give you some direction as to what is happening. in the mean time there is nothing you can do but pass the word to others who use the land for practising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cota kid Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 why are you asking who is making the complaints, are you intending to pay them an unsocial visit? the farmer sounds very pro biker he will let you know what he wants to happen, its not a witch hunt for the complainee, and i suspect the last thing the farmer needs is a couple yobs threatening the person/s who have complained - no offence. all you can do is wait for the farmer to give you some direction as to what is happening. in the mean time there is nothing you can do but pass the word to others who use the land for practising. There's nothing in the posting by jim w that suggests paying a visit to the person who complains and indeed any mention of threats. Your 2 + 2 = 5 attitude Spud appears to be the same as the people who think that all people on offroad motorcycles wear balaclava's and fly around the country terrorising everyone. Perhaps if the person or persons making the complaint was known then people might be able to come to a mutual agreement to resolve the reason why they have a grievance in the first place and hopefully the resolution will be to the benefit of all parties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougie pumpkin Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 why are you asking who is making the complaints, are you intending to pay them an unsocial visit? the farmer sounds very pro biker he will let you know what he wants to happen, its not a witch hunt for the complainee, and i suspect the last thing the farmer needs is a couple yobs threatening the person/s who have complained - no offence. all you can do is wait for the farmer to give you some direction as to what is happening. in the mean time there is nothing you can do but pass the word to others who use the land for practising. There's nothing in the posting by jim w that suggests paying a visit to the person who complains and indeed any mention of threats. Your 2 + 2 = 5 attitude Spud appears to be the same as the people who think that all people on offroad motorcycles wear balaclava's and fly around the country terrorising everyone. Perhaps if the person or persons making the complaint was known then people might be able to come to a mutual agreement to resolve the reason why they have a grievance in the first place and hopefully the resolution will be to the benefit of all parties. Here here ! I was thinking exactly the same , when i was reading spuds response . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimw Posted March 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Deary me Spud did you actually read my post ( 'yobs... no offence' - well I bloody well am offended )- as the cota kid quite rightly states the issue is about how we go about reaching a mutually acceptable resolution of this issue? However if you cannot trace the complainant or their agent then it is very difficult to enter into a dialogue never mind resolve it. It may be that we will need to limit practice days/times etc but I think it is a poor do if we don't even try. I have talked to the farmer on a number of occasions and am very well aware of what direction he would like things to go in - oddly enough neither of us mentioned paying the complainee a yobbish visit....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ourtea Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 However if you cannot trace the complainant or their agent This is unlikely to be a member of the public or one of the dreaded Ramblers Association... the culprit is likely as not .... good old DEFRA!!! EU and government legislation that was introduced 2 years ago is still doing the rounds and detering/preventing farmers from allowing non-agricultural uses on their land for more than a few days per year. The consequence of a farmer/landowner disobeying this is that his area aid payments ("subsidies" in plain speak) will cease to be paid to him by the government. As you can imagine, this would be a pretty catastrophic outcome for him, hence I imagine this hard-pressed trials-loving farmer is having to tread carefully at the moment. He wants to help trials (look what he's given in the past!!!) but he now has to consider his livelihood and keeping pennies rolling into his bank account. I'm afraid this is still going to prove tricky over years to come, so finding more plots of land will be necessary if thriving trials clubs are to keep going and practise areas are to be open to general use. This is not a new topic... remember the kick-up a couple of years ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabie Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 to jump to Spud's defence let me ask a very blunt and awkward question does this bit of land have any planning permission to allow more usages beyond the 14/28 day rule (the General Permitted Development Order) ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimw Posted March 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 (edited) to jump to Spud's defence let me ask a very blunt and awkward questiondoes this bit of land have any planning permission to allow more usages beyond the 14/28 day rule (the General Permitted Development Order) ??? Fair question - although you are defending the indefensible! I'm afraid I don't know whether he has planning permission. I don't pretend to know the ins and outs of this matter - the posting was really to see if anyone had some hard information. In response to 4ourtea the farmer seems to think it is an individual but presumably DEFRA might be on his case at some point. If a non-farming private individual owned this area of land would permission still be required to use it for trials practice? Edited March 5, 2007 by jimw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telecat Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 The complainant is a Councillor who has moved into the area very recently I believe. Funnily enough when an inquiry was made to the council they claimed to know nothing about it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cota kid Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 On what basis is the complaint, noise? We as responsible trials riders are an easy target for the powers that be. Its a lot more difficult to catch someone flying about the streets on a stolen crosser or a mini moto so they go for the trials rider. How can one individual stop the enjoyment of such a large number of legitimate trials and responsible trials riders. What can we do to stop this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 My point was, what is the 'point' of asking why this land is no longer going to be used for practicing unless you have some kind of motive or yob action plan? The orginal most saying the Farmer has been summonsed to court and is not willing to talk about it, SO WHY ARE WE ASKING QUESTIONS? Could it be that in the area of addingham there are riders avaiable to stand guard over this land and say to any potential rider looking to practise "sorry mate you can't ride here anymore" and the person being told asks "why" and the answer is "because the farmer said no practising". It doesn't matter why you can't practise be it DEFRA, local council, public complaints the fact is you can't and this is what the farmer has told you. So... moving on, if the farmer says NO then why seek further information unless you have a motive? If the farmer wants to put up and sign saying No Practising perhaps we should debate the sign? On my car radio a DJ says the 9:15 from Orpington station to London Charing Cross is cancelled i'm aware of this fact even though i don't use public transport, so you'd be suprised to know i won't be looking for further inforamtion about this train cancellation. If the Farmer has said no practising i won't be calling him to find out why. can i go now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmouse Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 can we practice at orpington station after 9.15 ? we should protest like the pro hunters cruel *******s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabomb Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 If the farmer owns the land,which i`m sure he does because he comes round collecting money,cant he do what he wants with the land?Does he have to have planning permission to let people ride their bikes on his land? Even if somebody is complaining about noise,the council or whoever will have to measure the volume of noise,and i cant really see it being much of a problem to anybody.I`ve been up there a few times and i cant recall seeing any houses close by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted March 5, 2007 Report Share Posted March 5, 2007 Could you not collectively offer to plant a tree screen? 1) to muffle the noise and 2) carbon emission offsetting. Make the Trials community look nice and green as well as working with the complainant to resolve their issues - although if you don't know who the complainant is and what exactly their issues are then it is hard to quantify if that would work or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crosser Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 What a bloody good idea!! xtreme trials would be happy to donate some funds to plant some trees and thats the angle where I think you would get the most sence. practicly all of our top riders have done most of their practising there over the last 15 years it would be such a shame to lose it, in the next few months I will be spending alot of money with the local press advertising the great yorkshire bike show so I will try and sway a few reports on addingham and see if we can get a few positive stories from local editors( not promising owt but you can normally have a deal with them!) crosser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.