Law of the Land

by Andy Walker

Law of the Land

A review of MOD byelaws could spell a rough ride for mountain bikers who depend on their local army land. Andy Walker finds out exactly what the future holds.

Let’s spare a thought for mountain bikers in South East England. Glance at a relief map of the UK and you will notice that the region’s most eminent hills look like mere speed bumps compared to the towering peaks enjoyed by riders in Scotland, Wales and Northern England.

However, despite this inconvenience you don’t often hear South East riders complaining about their lot. Rather than sit at home and mope, they set out in the spirit of exploration and squeeze the very best out of whatever their local woods have to offer.

Take Aldershot, on the Hampshire-Surrey border, for example. As ‘Home of the British Army’ it is surrounded on all sides by miles of military land, boasting every type of terrain from sweeping woodland singletrack to hold-on-and-hope technical rocky descents.

From the youngsters looking to emulate their biking heroes, to the nine-to-fivers who just want to snatch a quick blast around the woods after work, the land represents a way of life for local riders, and they certainly feel they’re onto a good thing.

Well, you know what they say about all good things.

Increasing pressure on army training from public access, combined with the dreaded health and safety fears, could soon lead the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to start using existing historic legislation to prosecute cyclists who venture off road in the area. Perhaps we’re about to hear some complaining after all.

Strictly speaking, mountain biking shouldn’t be happening here at all. As with many other MOD estates nationwide, riding a bike off-road at Aldershot has long been illegal. An extract from the local byelaws, drawn up in 1976, states:

“…no person when on the Military Lands shall… ride a… bicycle… otherwise than on a carriageway of a road suitably constructed and made up for use by vehicular traffic…”

Anyone caught breaking this law by a Training Area Marshall or MOD Police Officer could face prosecution, an eye-watering £500 fine and, perhaps scariest of all, the prospect of having their bike taken away for good.

With so much at stake it seems crazy that anyone would even consider taking the risk, but the truth is that riders here have never really seen it as a cause for concern.

Adam and Matt (not their real names) have been riding here for over 10 years, in which time they have never even encountered an MOD official, let alone found themselves in any trouble:

“The army land around here really is a blessing,” said Adam, “we live in quite a flat, urban area, but head out for 15 minutes in any direction and there’s loads of good stuff to ride.”

“We found out a few years ago that it’s technically illegal,” added Matt, “but we’ve always felt there’s a sort of unspoken agreement, where riders keep out of the way of the soldiers, respect the environment and look out for other users, and in return we get to enjoy our sport without getting any hassle.”

It’s understandable that these guys feel they have nothing to fear: since the Aldershot and District byelaws were introduced 34 years ago, not a single rider has been prosecuted under the legislation. But are they right to adopt such a blasé attitude, or could they be in for a very nasty shock?

A spokesman for the MOD said: “The Aldershot Training Area byelaws, and similarly others applying to other military training areas in the region, are generally used to remove offenders as opposed to as a prosecution tool.

“However, any persistent offender could be prosecuted and there are cases in other areas where prosecutions have occurred or injunctions have been taken out.”

Consider yourself warned then. You may be wondering why, having lay buried all these years, the issue of legality is suddenly surfacing now. The answer is that the MOD is currently carrying out a review of its local byelaws, which some cyclists had taken as a sign that things may be changing for the better. The truth may therefore come as something of a disappointment:

“Military training is being squeezed,” the spokesman explained. “The MOD holds its estate for one reason - military training - and this must be enabled as part of any balance with public access. It is not anticipated that cyclists will be given an open right of access across this part of the estate.

“Aside from the disruption to training, the area contains a considerable amount of military infrastructure which poses a threat to civilian safety if moving through at speed on a bicycle. There have been instances of individual cyclists injuring themselves whilst cycling off road and as landowner we have a duty of care to anyone on our property. We therefore try to remove that risk by the application of the byelaw excluding cycling from off road areas.”

Adam and Matt are surprised at this steadfast stance and believe that, rather than being more heavily enforced, the byelaws prohibiting off-road riding should be scrapped altogether:

“It’s crazy,” said Matt, “in 10 years nobody has ever asked us to move on, which shows we’re not getting in anyone’s way. Loads of people come down here to walk their dogs or go for an afternoon stroll; I don’t see how what we’re doing is any more disruptive.”

“Of course mountain biking has its risks,” said Adam, “but if we fall off and hurt ourselves, it’s our own fault; we’re not going to try and sue the MOD. Instead of banning off-road riding completely, the laws should allow us to do it responsibly and at our own risk. If the laws are being reviewed at the moment, now would be the perfect time to make these changes.”

This pair’s philosophy of responsibility and respect is certainly admirable, but the issue may not be as straightforward as they think. Environmental factors are another important consideration, as the conservation of much of the land is protected by law, both as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Protection Area (SPA).

The rise in popularity of ‘North Shore’ style riding in recent years has inspired some riders to modify the landscape in ever more dramatic ways. The discipline, which originates from the north shores of Canada, involves building elaborate man-made obstacles out of wood and incorporating them into the trails. It’s a trend which the MOD says is as a step too far:

“We have found that a number of biking 'courses' have been created and, in some instances, promoted on the estate without our knowledge or approval,” continued the MOD spokesman. “This not only increases our risk under our duty of care, but will almost always be an offence under the Habitat Regulations, which protect the SSSI and SPA status of the training areas.

“Removal of such courses and rectification of any damage is required by SSSI legislation and is at a cost to the MOD.”

This news will be especially frustrating for the majority of riders, who just want to turn up and ride without tearing gaping holes in their surroundings. There are those who take trail building to harmful extremes but, for everyone else, could there not be some kind of compromise? Back to Adam and Matt:

“A lot of the off-road routes we use here haven’t been purpose-built by riders,” said Adam. “We prefer to make use of the existing landscape, but where modifications have been made they’re usually pretty sympathetic towards the environment. There are some man-made trails which have been here undisturbed for as long as we can remember, which shows they’re not bothering anyone.”

Clearly these two, like many others, feel mountain bikers have, over the years, established themselves as part of an accepted culture on military land. They also believe the future should include them in some way; a view which is in stark contrast to that held by the MOD:

“With an estimated population of some 5 million people within a 30 minute radius of our Home Counties training areas, the sites suffer from extremely high levels of public access pressure,” said the spokesman.

“If the current level of infringements, damage and disruption continues it is likely that additional resources would be found to manage access in a more appropriate fashion.”

Let’s take a moment to mull over this last statement. ‘Additional resources’ could mean more MOD officials looking out for people riding where they shouldn’t. ‘Managing access’ could mean enforcement of those scary laws designed to keep cyclists out. And note that this is not just a possibility if things get worse, but if things continue the way they are - not just in Aldershot, but across the whole of the Home Counties region.

The very fact that the MOD is considering stumping up the cash for extra enforcement shows how seriously it is taking the issue, but cyclists seem to have remained strangely quiet about the whole thing.

It might be that, until now, the future of cyclists’ right to use MOD land has been unclear, with many believing that the review of byelaws would bring some good news. Or perhaps, after decades of getting away with it, complacency has set in.

Either way, decisions made in the next few months could hold big implications for the future of mountain biking in the South East, so quietly ignoring the issue may no longer be an option.

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Law of the Land

by Andy Walker