5th June 2011 Garburn Pass now closed to
motor traffic
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Three years of legal argument over the status of Garburn Pass, have now conclude with the ruling by the Government appointed inspector that the route should be open to all traffic except motorised vehicles. Thanks to around £55,000 of Government funding after the floods in 2009 the pass - especially the Troutbeck side - is probably in better condition than it has been for hundreds of years. After years of debate, arguments and counter arguments - with hundreds of pages of documents ranging from maps of 1822, guide books of the 1880s, and photographs of motorbikes using the pass in the 1920s - the Secretary of State has finally concluded that the correct legal status of the route is a ‘Restricted Byway’. This means the route will be open to all traffic, except motorised vehicles. Motorists and motor cyclists who use the route will be committing a criminal offence. |