MARCHING ORDERS

Mountain bikers could still be banned from swathes of prime singletrack in Hampshire, following a MOD by-laws review

- Jamie Darlow

Mountain bikers probably won’t get the permitted access to singletrack they were hoping for on military land around Aldershot, Hampshire, following a review into access due out in February. Thousands of riders use the heath and forest land around Aldershot and its network of trails every week, but riding singletrack has technically been prohibited under existing rules. Now though, a long-awaited by-law review by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which manages land for the MOD, is on the cusp of publication and looks to confirm access to fire roads alone.

“We’re hoping to go live with public consultation on that review at the end of the month, if not the start of february,” says James Nevitt from the DIO. By the time you read this then, the review should be in full swing and open to scrutiny from mountain bikers. Will it give riders official permission to ride singletrack trails? “The policy hasn’t changed,” Nevitt said, indicating that singletrack will still be off-limits to all users.

There are also concerns it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ride at famous hotspots like Tunnel Hill and Ash Ranges, thanks to the actions of the MOD, which has reduced land access over the past five years. That’s the view of local residents’ group Trails Action Group (TAG), which has watched the land thousands of mountain bikers, walkers, runners and horse riders enjoy become incrementally fenced off and parking removed from key locations.