I was just wondering what the law is on building on public accessed land, like jumps or pumps tracks? As i live next to a woods where some jumps already exist.

Thanks

Its almost certainly illegal, and tends to involve spending your Conucil Tax to remove them.

build and be damned.

if they knock it down, build it back biggerer.

I would imagine you can't touch public land, but this doesn't appear to deter a handful off people sneaking in with, picks and shovels.

Don't do it!

i don't know the exact legalities but have lots of years experience in this from when i used to ride BMX / jump bikes.

we found there were some spots you could get away with it and others you can't. it simply seemed to come down to if anyone complained to the council.

sometimes trails would last a matter of weeks others maybe years until some kid had a trip to A&E and the council would be round the next day.

if the area is not a walkers paradise then give it a go (if it is the complaints will flood in). put together a few berms / rollers and see how it goes. after its been there a month or so then its worth spending a bit more time with a shovel.

How are you categorising it as "public land"…?

Do you know for fact that it is publicly owned eg council Fc, MoD etc

or is it privately owned but with public access?

I think it is public land or county council owned, but if it were CC owned they would tidy it up a bit but they haven't. But i live literally 15 metres away from it. Theres a few dog walkers mainly the neighbours who own dogs. I mean the jumps that are already there have been around for at least 10 years and nothings happened to them and they are in plain view, slap bang in the middle of the whole woods.

We built some on council owned property and when some dude drove over to us one day when we were jumping, they asked what we were doing (ummmmm isn't that obvious) then asked if we were the ones who built the jumps, then he went on to say as they were built so well and seem sturdy as long as we knew the risks they could remain for us to use!!!!

they stayed for a few years before the council finally bulldozed them…… result 🙂

I can think of a few examples where riders have taken over places that are basically waste ground and developed them into something much more beneficial. I wouldn't say "never do it" but you need to be aware of some of the potential issues, such as

Landowner liability – Even if people using the site are doing it "at their own risk", the buck stops with the person who owns the land. So don't build shoddy or unsafe things. If your trails involve doubles, jumps made from rotten logs, pallet North Shore etc. you can expect them to be torn down double-quick. Same if you are building trails over footpaths or digging big pits to get dirt.

Arsey dog-walkers – you may get aggro and even physical violence from existing users of the woods.

Degrading the environment – if your trails attract idiots who drop litter or set fire to things, no-one will speak up for you when the diggers move in. If you want to keep a spot, keep it spotless. Also if it's somewhere where the local scummers take their mini-bikes or motos, you can expect your nice soft trails to get torn up in double-quick time, and it may not be worth the hassle.

Assuming somewhere is neglected – It's possible that the place you pick may turn out to be somewhere with some environmental value, even if it doesn't look too lovely. Often nature reserves aren't the most beautiful places to start with, and particularly in the current economic climate, there isn't much money to manage them and tidy them up, but that doesn't mean no-one will care if you start digging the place up or skimming off the vegetation to make trails Do a bit of research and see if it shows up on mapping sites like MAGIC as a protected area.

As far as the law goes you're quite possibly committing criminal damage, so bear this in mind and back down if challenged.

The trails, pump tracks etc that last the longest time seem to be the places that are well out of the way of anyone, people don't shout about them, and thus they get minimal use and abuse. If a potential building spot is well-known already or right next to a road I'd look elsewhere.

The alternative approach is to contact the landowner and find out if they would be sympathetic to an official project on their land. AT the moment it seems like a lot of councils are keen to build little BMX tracks or pump tracks on their property. They don't take much budget and there are a fair few contractors out there who will do a really good job. The down side is that somtimes you get a crappy little BMX track which is badly designed and no-one will use.

Better still get involved with a local legit trail building group, they'll welcome you with open arms and you can be reasonably sure what you build will last.

PlopNofear – certainly illegal to build on, your old man would know who owns it for sure.

But….

If its the small bit of rough neglected woodland I think it is, as long as you don't upset any of the dog walkers or people who use it & be respectful, you might get away with a bit of minor work without upsetting anyone.

Its is quite out of the way & only used by a handful of local people anyway & I bet most of them you know by name anyway 😉

Keep the place tidy don't be silly with anything you do & enjoy 😉

Mr Agreeable describes the ins and outs pretty well.

TBH it all boils down to – build without permission and it's likely to get torn down sooner or later, get permission and you avoid this problem.

Of course, if you ask and get turned down your hand is shown. Don't ask and go stealth about it and you could "get away with it".

Ultimately bear in mind though that the Land Owner / Manager is reponsible for their land and what happens on it, to a great extent, whether they know about it beforehand or not. It means they will be liable and whilst you might accept all the inherent risks etc (i.e. you stack it and break yourself) some other "user" might assume it is legit, use it, spang themselves and sue the land owner / manager.

If the landowner can be shown to have known about the stuff, or to have not (in the eyes of the law) done enough to control their land and activities on it (and this might include by the act of omission, not finding your "stuff") then they can be found liable and suffer consequences (fines, compensation etc).

You expose them to this risk by your actions.

I always go for permission, for the reasons above and several others. I do a lot of stuff with Forestry Commission and whilst I disagree with lots of what they do, at times, the issue of getting permission up front is one I accept.

Other people's opinions and approaches may vary.