Plan to reopen infamous ford loved by TikTokers

Proposals have been put forward to reopen an infamous ford which closed on safety grounds three years ago.

Rufford Ford in Nottinghamshire became known around the world due to TikTok and YouTube videos of cars splashing through, and sometimes getting stuck.

Nottinghamshire County Council is now looking to reopen it again with traffic calming measures, while acknowledging that opinions on doing this are "strongly polarised".

The police, fire service and some local residents have supported the closure, while other residents and the area's MP want the ford to reopen.

Cars cannot drive through Rufford Ford but people can cross it on foot or bicycle using a bridge

The proposals to reopen the ford follow a consultation over its future, and there is now due to be a further consultation over the traffic calming scheme.

Councillor Bert Bingham, cabinet member for transport and environment, said: "Any long-term solution for the ford must carefully balance the perspectives of all stakeholders, and it is evident from the consultation process that opinions remain strongly polarised regarding the most appropriate course of action.

"We've listened to the community and taken a detailed, evidence-based approach to finding a solution."

Suggested traffic calming measures outlined in a council report include "deflection methods designed to slow vehicle speeds", flood gates which can be closed when the water gets too high, and CCTV cameras monitored by the council.

Mr Bingham said: "Exploring the traffic calming scheme offers a balanced way forward, and once we have worked through all the options for implementing this safely, we encourage everyone to take part in the upcoming consultation to help shape the future of Rufford Ford."

The proposals follow a change in leadership of the council, from the Conservatives to Reform.

Neil Clarke, the council's former cabinet member for transport and environment, was against the ford reopening.

The water in Rufford Lane comes from Rufford Lake (right), which is part of a watercourse called Rainworth Water

Rufford Ford has existed in the same spot in Rufford Lane for hundreds of years, before motor vehicles were even invented.

For decades it was a popular attraction for local families, who enjoyed taking their children to watch cars splash through.

But the council report claims there was a "dangerous escalation of exhibitionist behaviour" when people started filming the ford for social media, beginning around 2020.

"These videos quickly went viral, attracting millions of views and drawing other 'digital creators' from across the country to film at the ford," the report says.

"There are now many thousands of videos and clips on various social media channels with many millions of views of incidents at the ford.

"As typical with social media content, the higher number of views correlate with the spectacle provided and consequently this resulted in a dangerous escalation of exhibitionist behaviour."

The council eventually closed the ford in December 2022, after a motorcyclist rode through at speed, was thrown off his bike and broke his leg.

Michelle Welsh MP has been visiting the ford since she was a child, and is in favour of it reopening

The area's MP, Michelle Welsh, said she had happy memories of visiting the ford as a child and has been trying to get it reopened.

"Like many other children across Nottinghamshire I really enjoyed the thrill of seeing the cars going through the water and splashing up," said Ms Welsh, Labour MP for Sherwood Forest.

However, she said nostalgia was not the reason why she believed the ford should open again.

"It seems like a little thing but this is a big part of how people travel in this constituency, and just closing it up with no real plan for three years has been a huge problem," she said.

"I have been speaking to people locally, to businesses, to people that live nearby, to local farmers. It's had a huge impact on them.

"The closure has meant that traffic has gone to some of the nearby villages, including Ollerton village, and it's had an impact on local farmers and their ability to do their work."

Residents in Station Road in Ollerton say people have been using their road as a cut-through since Rufford Ford closed

Affected residents include those living in Station Road in nearby Ollerton.

Steve Long, who has lived on the street for 10 years, said more vehicles had been using their road as a cut-through since Rufford Ford closed.

"This is a very narrow road, it's a conservation area, but we get so much traffic through here we get damage to cars, we have drivers fighting over who is going to go through the traffic calming, we've had the police here," he said.

Mr Long, who is on the committee for Ollerton Village Residents' Association, said he and other residents supported the ford being reopened.

"I think it was disproportionate to close the ford," he said.

"The closure really was a result of one accident and people taking YouTube films down there, and that's so simply solved.

"It needs some traffic calming, probably a chicane through there and some speed humps, to slow people down, make them go through one at a time and problem solved."

Jonathan Ball, who lives on Rufford Lane and is also a parish councillor, believes reopening Rufford Ford is dangerous

The results of the previous consultation showed how divisive the issue has been.

The closure of the ford was supported by police, the fire service, parish and district councils, 12 residents living within two miles of the ford, and nine residents from the wider area.

However, it was objected to by 58 residents living within two miles, and 136 from the wider area.

Jonathan Ball, who lives on Rufford Lane and is also a parish councillor, is among those who want the ford to stay closed.

"We used to see huge crowds gathering, particularly at weekends, urging drivers to drive through the ford, and driving at excessive speeds, and really being a danger not only to themselves but to people watching and people also using the lane," he said.

"The moment they reopen the ford all the gains will be lost. We will lose the safe walking route, we lose the cyclists, and instead we will open our arms to the bad old days of anti-social behaviour and danger."

YouTuber Midlifecrisis101x was among the first people to film at Rufford Ford, and said it became "a circus" as more people came

The BBC asked Nottinghamshire Police if it wanted to comment but the force did not respond.

However, Michelle Welsh MP said she had spoken to police about it.

"The police were obviously really concerned," she said.

"The situation we had here made the area really unsafe at times. I think some people behaved incredibly unresponsibly, so the police are keen to work with myself and Nottinghamshire County Council, and the local people, to make sure that when it does open it is safe."

YouTuber Midlifecrisis101x, who was among the first people to film at the ford, accepts there were safety problems as more people started turning up.

"When there were just the three of us we could run up and down the bridge, there was space to move, it was fine," he said.

"But gradually it started to get busy. That's when it became ridiculous, and it became a circus show.

"I didn't film here for the last two weekends that it was open, because it had got to the point where we didn't want to film something bad."

He believes the ford should reopen with traffic calming measures in place.

"It's a public road for everybody, it's not a private road for the residents here, this has been a public road for over 100 years," he said.

"It does need some form of control brought in, but this should have been brought in before it closed."