Five green lanes to close at TT to prevent damage

The move calls for some lanes to close throughout the motorcycle festival

Five green lanes are set to close during the Isle of Man TT to prevent damage to the Manx uplands by off-road bikers.

The Department of Infrastructure (DOI) has applied for temporary closures of the routes during the fortnight, which runs between 26 May and 7 June 2025.

DOI Minister Michelle Haywood said in past years there had been incidents where riders had used the lanes to access areas of land that were "vulnerable to being damaged".

The decision was a "proactive, responsible move" during a period where lots of tourists visit the island and all other greenways would remain open, she said.

The application has been made after consultation with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (Defa) and the Countryside Access Group, which is made up of representatives from a range of organisations who have an interest in the island's countryside.

The DOI said the selected lanes in Laxey, Michael, Marown, Maughold, and Lezayre were on the uplands and were "generally dead ends that lead to areas of open hillside" close to the TT course.

They had been identified by Defa rangers as places where riders "habitually enter open hillside to ride motorcycles illegally", it said.

Greenways temporarily closed:

• U17 Park Llewellyn - accessed via Rhowin Road, Hibernia, in Maughold and leads to a dead end at the back of North Barrule, leading directly onto an area of public ramblage

• U56 Peg Willeys Rd - leads from the Crosby Back Road in Marown and leads to a dead end at Slieu Roy (Greeba Mountain), leading to a footpath and registered heathland

• U69 Governor Loch Road - accessed off the Beinn-Y-Phott Road, leading to a footpath and registered heathland

• U90 Snaefell Mines Road - leads from Agneash and finishes at the valley below the Black Hut and Veranda area, with access to the TT course only available by illegally riding across peatland

• U14 Glen Auldyn - at the top of Sky Hill and is a dead end leading to peatland

Haywood said the issue became "so much harder to police during the TT fortnight" due to the influx of visitors.

"The weight of a bike can do a significant amount of damage and once it's done it can take years for some of it to be recovered," she said.

"It is much easier to stop it in the first place."

The minister said while the move would see the closure of five of the island's greenway roads, the rest would stay open, including "the paths that we know riders use to reach vantage points, to responsibly enjoy during the festival fortnight", she added.