Derbyshire County Council have decided to continue re-surfacing work on Rushup Edge, despite ongoing protest from not just fellow mountain bikers, but all outdoorsy groups in and around the area.

The initial track destructive work began back in October of last year, but was halted following pressure from riders and written concern from Andrew Bingham MP for High Peak. But now a new update has surfaced – and it’s not good news.

A somewhat self-justificatory report from the DCC has finally been published, and councillors have voted to continue the work, much to the disappointment of pressure groups such as the Peak District MTB. Protesters are angered as they feel their concerns have been downright ignored.

“While we pleased that Derbyshire County Council engaged in more in depth consultation, the published results are disappointingly misleading,” said Paul Richardson, Peak District MTB Chair.

“The report is misrepresentative of those who provided formal responses and fails to capture the broader public feeling towards these works,” he added.

So in a very upsetting nutshell, the DCC feel they have a duty to maintain byways to ensure access for all – and after consulting horse riding groups, walking groups, disabled walking groups and mountain bikers; they believe that the best course of action is to raze the lot – they’ve previously managed to use ‘materials sensitive to the natural environment‘ by laying down road planings in a limestone area, so goodness knows what it’s going to look like.

Please enjoy this image of what will be lost.

You can read the summary of the report here.

If the whole DCC saga is news to you then take a look at our past stories/updates on Rushup Edge here. And join in the forum debate thread here