Accessible trail plans agreed despite opposition

The six-mile (9.6km) route runs between Garsdale Station and Hawes

National park leaders have agreed to press ahead with plans to create an accessible track for walkers, wheelchair users and cyclists along the route of a disused railway, despite opposition from landowners.

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) members voted in favour of making a public path creation order to establish a bridleway between Garsdale Station and Hawes on the former Wensleydale Railway line.

The meeting heard the authority could have used a voluntary creation agreement had all 20 landowners backed the plan for the six-mile (9.6km) route.

However, the opposition of at least five meant they would need to use more formal legal powers to create the route.

National park member Libby Bateman, who chaired a working committee on the establishment of the route, said the group had hoped the path could be created through collaboration with landowners, but this had not been possible.

"The proposal before us today to create a new multi-user route between Garsdale Station and Hawes through a creation order is not just a logical process, it represents a clear and meaningful opportunity for our communities."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, members agreed to a condition that creating the route would not stop any future plans to reopen that stretch of the Wensleydale Railway.

Garsdale Station is located in the Yorkshire Dales National Park on the Settle and Carlisle line

The meeting heard that a planning application, including a full public consultation, would still be needed if a creation order was made.

Member Allen Kirkbride opposed the authority using a creation order to create the route.

"One third of the landowners have not agreed to this plan and I believe that in order to push this forward, more consultation with the farmers and landowners would be a better process."

He argued that the park authority should instead establish the route through the planning process.

The meeting heard that further talks would take place over coming months with landowners, in the hope that a voluntary agreement could still be achieved before an order was made.

It is hoped the path would support active lifestyles, encourage sustainable forms of transport and "boost the local economy through increased footfall".

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.