I am not one to usually protest in this manner. Fear of upsetting the community and those I live beside and with would usually put me off. If you put your head above the parapet you are universally loved or hated, you only have to look at Greta Thunberg she has received such scrutiny for what she believes in...

But a lecturer once said to me 'your generation don't protest enough, they don't care' and I kept thinking women didn't burn their bra's for me to be a coward. I want to stand up for what I think is right or in this case wrong. 

So I have devised this petition its aim is to stop the plan to resurface the Monks Trod and open this heritage path to off road users (specifically motorbikes), which in its simplest terms is what Powys Council intend to do.

A Council's purpose is to reflect the will of the people. They use our taxes and other funding to provide services and deliver on priorities that are important to its constituents.

Well having researched and thought about it, what they plan to do with the Monk's Trod is not the will of this person. This petition is an opportunity to also raise your protest, if you also do not agree. I have outlined below what the council intend to do, for your information. For you to make your own decision.

Leonardo da Vinci once said:

"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence" 

So please, if you like me think this is fundamentally wrong, please don't be silent. Let's not wait until it is happening either... Show the council before it is to late...

Sign and share this petition.

Background information:

The Monks Trod is a medieval pathway that once connected two abbeys one in Abbeycwmhir, just north of Rhayader and Llandrindod Wells, and Strada Florida, in Ceredigion. This trod was stomped by Cistercian Monks in the 12th century. Its twenty four mile winding path is now a mecca for ramblers, cyclists, mountain bikers, runners, and twitchers. It is a beautiful place which includes many protected sites the Claerwen National Nature Reserve, Elenydd Site of Special Scientific Interest, Elenydd Mallaen Special Protection Area and the Elenydd Special Area of Conservation.

The byway has been closed to 4x4 vehicles since 1990, and motorcyclists have been under a series of temporary orders since 2002. The council's own report from 2002 found here (C152 Monks Trod Cabinet Report (moderngov.co.uk)) references that despite the ban the path is still abused. Something I can as someone who lives adjacent to the Trod can attest to, just last week there was a group of bikers on the common land 

Further the Councils own report recommended to continue a ban until sufficient funds could be sought to:

'put the route into repair for walking and cycling, and in a manner to which no harm will be done to the sites’ ecological interests'

Now the Council's plan is to tackle that route but without considering their ,  'no harm' ambitions. The council plan to use 1m in levelling up funds to resurface the byways for use by off road users (specifically motorbikes, though I don't see how they will deter 4x4's)

The Cambrian Mountain Society detail much better than I the grievous harm a plan of this nature could cause here Cllr-Charlton-5.2.24.pdf (cambrian-mountains.co.uk)

If this plan goes ahead, a pathway that was only ever intended for Monks, peaceful people on pilgrimage, will be devastated. It will no doubt become a mecca for off road users. Whose use will ultimately devastate not only important breeding habitats for birds, but whole regions of protected flora and fauna. It will become a road, with all the trappings of a road: fumes,  mess and little regard for those wanting to enjoy a peaceful sanctuary.

Most newspaper reports ( the Guardian, County Times, the Powys Times, Wales Farmer) have reflected the horror at such a project and I have yet to find once positive piece, singing the virtues of this plan. I understand that opening the Trod to off road users, by way of this resurfacing, would offer business opportunities and increased tourism options for the towns the Monks Trod is nearest. But it would also cripple others such as walking, horse riding, running, mountain biking and cycling. Not to mention how it would devastate an area that is so protected.

I also cannot help but think farmers whose sheep graze the common land wouldn't want off road vehicles careening around near their livestock either.

This petition is in place to reflect the voice of the people, people who want to protect the countryside. Please sign and share.

If we stay silent this will go ahead.