Norland Moor Cycling Consultation

Sorry I'm sure there's a thread on this but couldn;t find it...

Just got an email..

TLDR, 70.8% of people supported the proposal to permit cycling on Norland Moor. Acess is /will be allowed

Dear Consultee,

Thank-you for your participation in the Norland Moor cycling consultation last year. At the end of the survey, you left your e-mail address, giving us the opportunity to provide feedback.

Consultation period.

As you may recall, a public consultation was carried out in autumn 2022. The aim of the consultation was to gain insight into whether the public would support a change in legislation to permit cycling on the Moor. The consultation ran from 14 October to 11 November 2022. It consisted of an online digital survey, supplemented by options to complete a paper version of the survey and/or send more general feedback via email directly to the Countryside Services team. This consultation supplemented that previously carried out in 2018 for a proposed prescribed permissive route as part of the Draft Norland Management Plan.

The survey was distributed to Calderdale Council’s Citizen’s Panel (Talkback) and was also hosted on the Council website. It was promoted to the public via news media, library services, social media and direct mail to local groups, businesses and organisations. In total, 698 survey responses were collected.

Consultation Summary.

The central question asked in the consultation was:-
Do you support the proposal to permit cycling on the part of Norland Moor managed by the Council?

The results of the survey returned 70.8% of people supported the proposal to permit cycling on Norland Moor. A further 11.2% supported the proposal with some conditions attached. 17.5% were against the proposal.
For those who supported the proposals, the key themes are that the Moor is big enough to accommodate all users, it’s a safe and accessible location for off-road cycling and it supports a healthy lifestyle. For those who largely support the proposals but wanted some conditions to be considered, these included having separate or specific routes for walkers and cyclists, implementing good signage and promoting kindness and consideration for all users. For those who didn’t support the proposals, the main concerns were around safety, damage caused to the paths and the Moor and negative perceptions/experiences of the behaviour of some cyclists.

The survey attracted responses from a broad range of users of the Moor, with roughly equal numbers of walkers and cyclists.

The majority of survey respondents live in Calderdale (79%). Of the 18% of respondents who stated they live outside Calderdale, the largest proportion live in Kirklees, followed by Bradford, Leeds and Rochdale.

Decision Process.

In response to the consultation, a recommendation was made by the Portfolio Liaison Meeting that permission be granted. As an operational matter the decision now requires endorsing by the Chief Officer as approved, rejected or subject to modifications. Notice of this decision will be updated on the Council webpage.

Action Plan.

All decisions will be supported by an Action Plan to manage the recreational usage of the Moor. This will provide the management actions that cover the key areas of communication, signage, health and safety, path erosion and monitoring.

Timeline.

It is planned that the decision making process and initiation of action plan will be Summer 2023.

The report from the consultation is available by clicking on the link here: Norland moor | Calderdale Council

Thank you again for participating in the Norland consultation, this is now closed. We will ensure that the mailing list is now closed and for your privacy e-mails are accordingly deleted.

Best wishes,

Calderdale Countryside Service,

Green Spaces and Streetscene,
Communities and Service Support Directorate,
Calderdale MBC,
Spring Hall Mansions,
Huddersfield Road,
Halifax,
West Yorkshire,
HX3 0AQ

Please Note: This email communication, including any attachments, may be confidential and/or legally privileged. If you believe that you have received it by mistake, please do not forward it to anyone else or tell anyone what is in it and delete it from your mailbox and deleted items