Rushup Edge – Good News and It’s All Down to People Power!
Ride Sheffield (RS) and Peak District MTB (PDMTB) members have been instrumental in persuading Derbyshire County Council that they must listen to the mountain bike community. On friday, we were contacted by DCC offering a meeting on Dec 2nd along with the the BMC, Friends of the Peak District/CPRE and Keeper of the Peak, co-signatories of last week’s Open Letter.
Anxious that the meeting should be conducted in the correct spirit, RS and PDMTB pressed DCC that no work should recommence on Rushup Edge until after the meeting. DCC have demonstrated admirable good faith by agreeing to a cessation of works until Dec 9th at the earliest. Richard Bonner, Assistant Head of Countryside Service for DCC informed us, “works are suspended until 9th December 2014 on the route.”
This excellent result would not have been possible without the hard work of mountain bikers right across the Peak District, Sheffield and beyond. The letters, emails, tweets and phone calls have borne fruit and it is testament to the power of our arguments that we haven’t been ignored.
Of course, this isn’t the end of the affair. We have to see Rushup Edge reinstated to its former glory and secure genuine consultation in the future, nothing less. Rest assured, RS, PDMTB, the BMC, Friends of the Peak District/CPRE and Keeper of the Peak will continue to fight your corner.
To help us do that, please complete this survey – http://www.peakdistrictmtb.org/index.php/50-survey-rushup-edge-consultation
