Earlier this year Hexham Lane, a strategically important green road in the north of England was permanently closed to vehicles by Durham County Council. The circumstances surrounding this were dubious at best and so the TRF (Trail Riders Federation) convened their legal minds and decided that we had enough clout to challenge the decision in court.

A little over 3 weeks ago the TRF launched a Save Hexham Lane Crowd Funding Campaign to raise £10,000 towards the legal costs for this case. This is breaking new ground for the club, introducing a new way of adding to the fighting fund and giving those who aren't TRF members (for whatever reason) the opportunity to support what we are trying to achieve.

The guys at Northumbria TRF are so passionate about this campaign that they even ran the lane, in full gear, just to make a point. Watch their film, reflect on what winning back this lane would mean, and donate to the cause.

There's been a great reaction and there's just a couple more days to go until the crowdfunding closes. Any excess funds will go towards other similar projects, so please consider contributing!

Win back the green lanes or lose them forever. Click to donate

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Two principal questions arose during the "debate" at
TRF Forums • View active topics

1. What happens if the target is not met? Will the fund be topped up from the TRF fighting fund (the latter exists separately)? The answer came back, quickly, as "no".

2. The question then arose: So what happens to the individual donations in the event that the target amount is not raised? No answer has been posted to that question.

Not a well thought out campaign, IMO.

Last time I looked, this appeal was at 125% of the target.

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Dave

Should be a good stoush - revheads vs ramblers

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

Well as you are aware, the target has been met and I think it has been a great success, both in terms of actually raising the money, but also raising the profile of TRF and the great work they do in fighting TROs. I'm surprised nobody could answer your questions,

(2) if the target had not been met, none of the individual donations would have been collected—that's the whole point of crowdfunding and having a closing date. To quote from elsewhere, "If you don't reach the target, none of the pledges are turned into donations and the pledger isn't charged. The idea behind this is that you need to raise the amount in full for your project to go ahead."

(1) So zero money would have been raised and there would have been no question of topping up from the TRF fighting fund.

Any excess funds will go towards other similar projects, so please consider contributing!

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

Thanks for the explanation of how crowd funding works.

As for the questions within the TRF forum they were not mine.
Rather, they were from someone who, persumably, is interested enough to join the forum - a member of the TRF even.
I saw the crowd funding post as pretty vague because it did not explain the financial aspects - it's a matter of "hand over the cash, you know you really want to".

Now that the TRF have "loads of money", it simply highlights and begs the question of what the fighting fund is for if not for this type of fighting with local councils (fighting dragons and slaying beasts in the darkest shires of Britain?).

I have to admit I am feeling pretty jaundiced following the revelations concerning Kids Company and their shenanigens.

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Dave

Am I right in saying the solicitor that are fighting the case is a trf members and they are making the money from fighting this case in court.

I'm not TRF member - I have never ridden green lanes.. Im not even in the UK at the moment (just wanted to clarify all that) but the point of this thread is about the green lane issue not about the money or financial goings on within the TRF

isn't it ?


(Drops from the conversation!)

carry on !

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Mark
http://chasingdreams2014.blogspot.co.uk/

What I find interesting is that when lanes close the trf want your help to fight to keep it open I've been to these trf meetings, I'm not impressed with the people who run them, they don't share info on temp lane closers, so other riders are still using the lane, and it's £50 a year membership, drop the price they may find more people interested, and it's a click club, they want your money but not to come out riding.

Not really; it is an appeal to a wide audience outside of the TRF to contribute funds to one of the aims of the TRF.
The latter is a private club of a few thousand members. I am not aware that they publish audited accounts of their funding - up to now they have no need to do so, being private in nature.
Maybe that needs to be addressed now that they have a goodly amount of cash from a wide range of the public to augment their other funds.

The so-called "Green lanes issue" (they are not always, or even often, green) has been discussed many times, in many fora and is an emotive issue within the UK - so is donating cash for "worthy" causes.

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Dave

There are so many "worthy causes" tugging at your heartstrings these days that the phrase "a plague on all their houses" has come to mind a few times recently. We were door knocked last night by the NSPCC (a children's charity for those not familiar with the initials). A very worthy cause and worth supporting but the high pressure "stabbing finger" doorstep tactics very quickly turned sympathy to annoyance. Their well scripted presentation stopped just short of accusing me of "neglect" because I haven't set up a regular bank transfer donation - something I'm now very unlikely to do to say the least. The last couple of weeks has seen a number of other charities "blitzing" our road in similar "shame on you" manner.

I do have sympathy with the predicament that the TRF finds itself in and can understand why they'd want a "whip round" to pay a lawyer but whatever the merits of this particular case there is a Canute like element to their stance. Standing on the beach and waving £20 notes in the air to try and reverse one closure really is ignoring the tide of increasing regulation and, it has to be said, logic sweeping round their feet that's redefining the status of tracks all over England. The only reason they're not all already downgraded to footpath status is because councils have other things to do with their time.

Since I was a member of the TRF (many years ago) I've seen "unsurfaced roads" round my way (Chilterns) go from road status to bridleway and then down to footpath. If horse riders and cyclists are being barred what hope have motorcycles and 4x4s got. Personally, as a runner on many of these tracks, I wish there was a further downgrade to no dogs available but that's just me.

What the heck has the TFR appeal got to do with someone doorstepping you for NSPCC?
Walkabout: all you had to do was to Google 'Trail Riders Fellowship accounts' to find out the latest set of accounts filed was for up to 31 August 2014.

Lowrider: you might not be impressed with the volunteers helping run your local TRF but they are unpaid amateurs and if you think you can do better you could always step forward to help. Did you mean clique?

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If you're interested in helping this, please consider donating in the same way that 461 other people have already done.

If you're not, please pass on by quietly.

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"For sheer delight there is nothing like altitude; it gives one the thrill of adventure
and enlarges the world in which you live," Irving Mather (1892-1966)

I was thinking more about those who have made a donation to the TRF; they may like to look at such accounts - it matters not to me because I haven't made such a donation.

As for the wider topic of cash donations in general, it certainly is not off topic - your OP request is but one example of such a donation among a multitude of "good causes". It is based upon the TRF use of crowd-funding of course and "imagine how you would get along on the lanes without your bike".
As backofbeyond says, the more "moral blackmail" that is exerted the stronger I become in my personal resistance.

Incidentally, off topic in the pub??

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Dave

Hi Tim thanks for the correction on my spelling I'm dyslexic it's was a night mare when I was younger, last year before tony, the charman of the northern trf is trying to get the members of the northern devision to split from the main trf, how would that help the national trf Also the leagal team you say is one person, I no him, he's a member of the Newcastle trf that no one has seen in 10 years at any meeting, I no a few of the members in Newcastle most are great guys giving there time to do what they love for free.

That touched a nerve.
It is not all sweetness and light with the charity game. e.g.
Childline.

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Dave

Guess in the HUBB PUB mild dissension and topic wandering aren't allowed.

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Tony
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