Richard Bridge: What is said above in criticism of vehicular users is largely complete rubbish. I've been there and done it. The point is not competitive mud-plugging. It is to explore. And to tread lightly.

No, it's not rubbish. It's personal experience and statistical evidence. Maybe you've "been there and done it", but it sounds as if you have knowledge of a very limited sub-set of off-roaders. Maybe your low-impact fantasies obtain in the gentle lanes of Kent, but even then I'm sceptical. The road I'm living in in Tunbridge Wells now was a good mix when we moved there but is now largely populated by bankers, most with 4 x 4s, several of whom drive off road at weekends. I asked one of them why recently, and the answer was "for the challenge", NOT "to explore and tread lightly".

He wanted ruts, difficult terrain and something that he could pit "man and machine" against....doesn't sound as if he was particularly keen on seeing green lanes in good condition. In fact, the more trashed they were, the bigger the "challenge" and the more he'd like it.

And it's a demonstrable fact that the green lanes in Yorkshire that have been subject to TROs have largely regenerated "under their own steam" since the orders came into force. These TROs only ban offroading. They don't ban the agricultural use that was being made of them before they came into force. Just coincidence? I don't think so.