Motorsport fans gear up to fight ban from parks

Motorcyclists and watersport enthusiasts yesterday vowed to fight a House of Lords decision that would in effect ban motorised sports from national parks.

The vote in the House of Lords on Thursday night would require the 10 national park authorities to promote only the "quiet enjoyment" of their areas' special qualities.

Tim Stevens, of the Land Access Recreation Association, a co-ordinating body of 10 motorsport organisations, said there were more than 300,000 active participants with up to half the events taking place in national parks. "It's a very serious threat to motor sport," he said. "We are hoping that it will be changed."

A further amendment - which may block the ban - is likely to be introduced by the Government when the Environment Bill returns to the House of Commons. On Thursday, Lord Norrie, a Conservative peer, gained a 129-121 majority for his view that the parks should only promote quiet activities. The Department of Environment said parks should be left to decide which activities were acceptable.

Large numbers of motorcycle trials, scrambles and motocross races are organised in national parks. Regular trials on Exmoor and in the Peak District have a history of more than 50 years of competition.

The RAC Rally, one of the biggest spectator events in the year, uses Forestry Commission land in national parks.

Watersport enthusiasts have already suffered from growing restrictions on their activities and a 13-week public inquiry into the use of motor boats on Windermere has yet to report. The park authority in the Lake District is seeking to impose a 10mph speed limit which would prevent powerboat racing and stop all water skiing.

Edmund Wheelan, legal and governmental affairs manager at the Royal Yachting Association, the body responsible for powerboat racing, said that motorised water sports were already banned from Ullswater, Derwentwater and Coniston.

Regular events are held by the Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club, one of the oldest in the country, and there is an annual speed challenge in October.

Mr Wheelan said that complaints had also been received about dingy sailing and wind surfing, because conservationists objected to the brightly coloured sails.

"Quiet enjoyment is almost impossible to define. What is meant by it?" he asked.

The Council for National Parks, of which Lord Norrie is a prominent member, said it was delighted by the vote in the House of Lords and hoped the Government would not set about finding a legal definition of "quiet enjoyment".

Amanda Nobbs said the amendment was not about banning any particular activities, because there were already ways of achieving this by means of planning and other processes.

"The vast majority of people go to the parks for walking, riding and cycling, and similar activities that don't spoil the enjoyment of others," she said.

"In these days of noisy sports growing in popularity, the pressures on national parks are increasing. It would be disastrous if national parks had to promote that kind of activity."