Biker slams resurfacing of Derbyshire trails a “waste” of council money while potholes go unrepaired

Michael Spencer, aged 58, from Belper, regularly rides the public byways around Derbyshire with a number of friends – the oldest being 72.

Byways are public routes which can be used by a range of different users, including motorbikes, horse-riders, cyclists and walkers – and cars on some routes where viable.

On their outings, several times a week, purely on weekdays, Mr Spencer and his friends regularly see resurfacing works on the byways being carried out by Derbyshire County Council.

Mr Spencer says these works often need repeating in a short space of time, shifting during rainfall, and said the resurfacing itself is not necessary for the usage of the track by off-road motorbikes, walkers, cyclists and horse-riders.

His popular routes include Bonsall to Newhaven and Chatsworth to Darley Dale and says these are in good condition and that council money should be spent on potholes before repeating works on byways.

He said: “It is quite frustrating, when there is a lot of talk about council tax increasing. We go out on the lanes quite a lot and we see workers fairly often, but the surface is fine for how people use them.

“There is no justifiable reason why they would spend so much time and money doing this. In a time that the regular highways have potholes that they cannot afford to repair and when councils across the country are struggling for funds… and increasing council taxes, I really cannot understand the logic of spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on such a campaign.”

The council’s guidance on byways open to all traffic (BOATs), as of 2017, said: “BOATs which are publicly maintainable are not generally maintained so as to promote ease of use by vehicles.

County council data shows that in 2022, works had been planned for seven BOATs across the county (Hucklow, Foolow, Edensor, Eyam, Taddington, Ballidon, Bonsall), at a cost of £132,888, while works planned for 2023 on three BOATs (Birchover, South Darley, Chapel) totals £80,000. Its overall spending budget for the next financial year is £678.2 million.

The authority outlined that in the past year it spent 128 times as much money on road repairs than it did on byways refurbishment.

A spokesperson for the authority said: “A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: “Byways Open to All Traffic, BOATs, provide access for pedestrians, cyclists, horses, horse-drawn carriages, wheelchairs, motorised scooters and motor vehicles. Many provide access to farmland so are also used by agricultural vehicles.

“The surface needs to be suitable for all users. In particular, surfaces need to cater for horses and wheelchairs which have difficulty with large loose stones and deeply rutted paths.

“During 2022/23 we resurfaced seven BOATs at a cost of £132,000. In 2023/24 we are proposing to resurface three more BOATs at an estimated cost of £80,000. These particular BOATs have been discussed with, and in many cases suggested by, the Local Access Forums as routes for improvement.”

“During 2022/23 more than £17 million has been allocated on improving the condition of Derbyshire’s roads by full resurfacing, micro surfacing, surface dressing, patching or repairing potholes.”