National park leaders have agreed to press ahead with plans for an accessible multi-user track along a disused railway line in the Yorkshire Dales despite opposition from landowners.
The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) members voted in favour of making a public path creation order to establish a bridleway between Garsdale Station and Hawes on the former Wensleydale Railway line. The line is still open between Redmire, Leyburn and Northallerton.
A meeting at YDNPA’s headquarters in Bainbridge heard that the authority could have used a voluntary creation agreement had all 20 landowners backed the plan, but the opposition of at least five meant they would need to use more formal legal powers to create the route.
National park member Libby Bateman, who chaired a working committee on the establishment of the route, said the group had hoped the path could be created through collaboration with landowners but this had not been possible.
“Unfortunately, we now find ourselves at an impasse and in such a moment, we must be as bold in our actions as we have been in our ambitions.
“The proposal before us today to create a new multi-user route between Garsdale Station and Hawes through a creation order is not just a logical process, it represents a clear and meaningful opportunity for our communities.
“(The path) will encourage more sustainable forms of transport, support active lifestyle, and crucially, it will boost the local economy through increased footfall, bringing more customers to our cafes, shops, accommodation providers and other local businesses.”
Member Allen Kirkbride opposed the authority using a creation order to create the route.
He said: “One third of the landowners have not agreed to this plan and I believe that in order to push this forward, more consultation with the farmers and landowners would be a better process.
“The creation order will not help. I think in fact it will slow down the process of negotiating with farmers.”
He argued that the park authority should instead establish the route through the planning process.
The meeting heard that a planning application, including a full public consultation, would still be needed if a creation order was made.
Members agreed to a condition that creating the safe route for walkers, cyclists, wheelchair users and others would not stop any future plans to reopen the six-mile stretch of the Wensleydale Railway.
The amendment was agreed after the meeting heard from local railways campaigner Ruth Annison.
She said: “Garsdale to Hawes is a six-mile section of the 18-mile missing link of the railway between the Settle and Carlisle line at Garsale and Northallerton on the North East Coast Mainline.
“I’m very concerned that the conditions safeguarding the possibility of eventual railway restoration should be restated and included in any decision in favour of a public path protection order.”
The meeting heard that further talks would take place over coming months with landowners in the hope that a voluntary agreement could still be achieved before an order was made.
