Trails being drawn up for Rivington

MOUNTAIN bike guru Rowan Sorrell is working on the new plans for trails in Rivington.

The mountain bike sensation has ben enlisted by Blackburn bikers to help turn an otherwise under-used patch of fell at Rivington into a section of downhill playground.

He met with members of the club, local mountain bikers and members of the local authorities to devise plans on how best to proceed at the end of July.

Work now begins to bring clarity to development plans and finish work at Healy Nab to turn the plans into a reality.

Bill Ould, the man driving the development forward, said: "Rowan Sorrell visited the region to do a site visit to Healey NAB." The meeting was a chance for all local bikers to voice their opinions about what the new trails should feature.

Mountain biking has caused increased controversy at Rivington in recent weeks with numbers of tourists boosted to an all-time high and some trails around the Chinese gardens being eroded heavily by a small group of bikers wandering away from bridelways.

Council rep Ian Hart was also present.

Rowan said: ''I was around for a couple of days – may be more. I just needed a few hours to assess what the local riders are looking for from the trail.

"I can get a good shape of what we can do then and perhaps I could meet some people that evening. I will be back in the following couple of days to finish it up and then will get the report together at home."