White Stones Local authority to repair damage done in anti-4x4 rampage

from 4x4 Magazine - September 2022

Triangle Vert A hardcore French lane run in a then-new Jeep Cherokee

RIGHTS OF WAY

Breakthrough on White Stones as Wrexham Council agrees to repair damage done in anti-4x4 rampage

The ongoing battle against industrial-scale vandalism on White Stones is a step closer to being won, after Wrexham Council agreed to remove deliberate obstructions placed on the lane and repair damage done to it during a wildly destructive attempt to prevent 4x4s from using the right of way.

For many years, users of this beautiful and wholly sustainable right of way had to be wary of spikes dug into the ground in a bid to destroy vehicles’ tyres – but which could have had far worse consequences for walkers or horse riders. Illegal obstructions started to appear in 2016, then around a year and a half ago the lane was subjected to what can only be described as a rampage – in which massive pits were dug in the surface and fi lled with branches and rolled-up fencing, boulders were pushed on to the right of way, a stream bed was dug out and a section of bedrock was smashed out to exaggerate an already hazardous side-slope into a ravine alongside the track.

Lauren Eaton of the Green Lane Association had been working tirelessly on the case for around a year by the time the local authority agreed to a pre-fi nal hearing meeting – after which it accepted its responsibility to remove the obstructions and repair the damage done to the lane.

In addition to this, North Wales Police have ‘agreed to assist in attempts to prevent the culprit from repeat offending.’

Wales is of course home to many of Britain’s best rights of way – but unfortunately also to many of the most entrenched battles that have raged over individual lanes. White Stones has been one of the highest-profi le, but with luck these latest developments will bring this particular saga to an end.

‘It’s been a long slog,’ comments Lauren. ‘But it will be worth it to re-open a lane that has been unusable to all but the most adventurous walkers and twowheeled users for several years.’