Thursday February 24, 2011 at 10:00am
Forestry ‘Expert Review Panel’ Must Recognise Motorcycle Sport say the ACU
The Government announced on 17th February that the proposed consultation into ‘privatising’ of thousands of acres of state-owned woodland in England had been dropped by ministers. This has been strongly welcomed by the Auto Cycle Union (ACU) The overhanging threat of forestry land being sold and the impact on motorcycle sport within England has been a matter of deep concern for the ACU and the Industry over recent months.
The ACU welcomes the announcement that a new panel of experts will be set up to look at the public access and biodiversity within the publicly owned woodland. The ACU is involved in the running of a number of off-road sports held on forestry land, events such as Enduros, Trials and Cross Country events would have been heavily impacted by the intended sale, Large numbers of ACU clubs had already expressed great concern about the effect that the selling of Forestry land would have upon Off road motorcycling, in particular, about the potential loss of venues and for this reason had been campaigning against the proposal.
With the announcement of the new Expert panel on Biodiversity and Public access the ACU are calling for the panel to engage in constructive dialogue on the issue of access for sporting events and the sustainability of these events. It is of high importance that the access to forestry land is preserved to allow for the enhancement of motorcycle sport, as this is a popular spectator sport and offers a unique and diverse way of exploring the countryside. With over one million spectators attending off road events within the UK each year, it is clear that the public strongly supports off road motorcycle sport.
Off road motorcycling sports is a notable economic generator, creating around £0.75 billion per annum. This money is often seen supporting the local economy with Hotel’s, B&B’s, bars and restaurants all seeing a large gain of income around events as the spectators and teams make a weekend of events. In many cases Off Road Motorcycling sports have a very positive role in society, which engages young people in physical activity and helps to heavily reduce illegal motorcycle riding within rural communities.
This announcement has come as a huge success for all people involved within the motorcycling industry, as it is hoped that the planned review will now allow for the sport to continue within many forests of England.
ACU Chairman Brian Higgins said, “Although the cancellation of the consultation is good news, the challenge for motorcycle sport remains in relation to the debate over land access. ACU feels that the newly announced panel should take into account the positive impact and effects of off road sport on society. It is vital that the panel takes a ‘holistic’ view of forest access, so that all sections of society can use this valuable public resource in a sustainable manner – including the organisers and spectators of properly organised, environmentally aware motorcycle sports events”.