Sheffield Moors Partnership Masterplan

The Sheffield Moors partnership (SMP) Masterplan is up and running.  Available HERE, it sets out exactly what the Partnership intends to achieve in the next few years.  The document also explains exactly what the SMP is and why it was formed. It’s all about landscape scale conservation and encouraging continuity between neighbouring areas of land that may have different management strategies.

Why should this be of concern to mountain bikers?  Well, I’m sure that we don’t ride with our eyes shut and the wonderful landscape we pass through is as important as the rock gardens and singletrack.  Looking after that landscape in the best way possible benefits everyone.  There are a lot of ambitious targets in the Masterplan to improve the rights of way network including linking trails that reduce the necessity for going on the road – a clear win for mountain bikers.

It’s possible that some of these new bridleways will take a lot of time and negotiation to achieve and may require volunteer help in the construction stage, but it’s great to see land managers such as the Eastern Moors Partnership and National Trust have jumped the gun by opening a number of new bridleways already.

We’ll keep you posted….