Motorised vehicles banned from Lake District route

Motorised vehicles should remain permanently barred from a popular high-level Lake District route, the national park authority has decided.

Walna Scar Road, from Coniston to Seathwaite, should become a restricted byway, only used by walkers, cyclists, horseriders and pony and trap drivers.

The public has between 10 February and 1 April to object to the move by Lake District National Park Authority.

The ban was first introduced in 2007, then lifted briefly in 2010.

Objections by off-road motor enthusiasts led to a review by an independent inspector appointed by the Secretary of State, and the decision the route was actually a byway open to all traffic, including motor vehicles, and it reopened in June 2010.

However, following an appeal to the High Court, the inspector's decision was quashed in August, leading to a further review by the authority.