Letter: Home on the range for mountain bikes

Sir: The editor of Mountain Biking UK (letter, 12 May) seriously misunderstands the Council for the Protection of Rural England's position on mountain bikes. There is no question of supporting a total ban on mountain bikes.

The report Leisure Landscapes, which we published last Thursday ('Leisure explosion threatens rural calm', 13 May), explores the broad issue of the growth and changing nature of leisure activities and related development and their environmental impacts. Mountain biking is just one example of the growing conflicts being experienced in many rural areas as a result of trends in leisure and inadequate public policies.

We are urging the Sports Council and the English Tourist Board, together with the Department of National Heritage and other bodies, to address the implications of these trends not only for the countryside itself but also for the ability of future generations to enjoy rural England for its intrinsic qualities of beauty, peace and tranquillity without diminishing these in the process.

Yours sincerely,

NEIL SINDEN

Assistant Secretary (Planning and Heritage)

Council for the Protection of Rural England

London, SW1