A PROPOSAL to open up a path in Derbyshire to all traffic has been turned down after the county council received nine letters of complaint and a 20-name petition against it.

Graham Chinnery of the Trail Riders Fellowship, which represents trail bikers in England and Wales, told the council he believed the rights needed for his members to use Agnes Meadow Lane and Madge Hill, Kniveton, already existed.

He said this was backed up by, among other documents, maps and plans from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

His point was supported by the Peak and Northern Footpaths Society which said it believed the rights existed.

But the county council said it would not make the path "open to all traffic".

A report written by the county secretary said there was "a lack of convincing evidence pointing to a particular highway status".

The decision was made after the council received several letters of opposition to the proposal.

The Derby Nomads Rambling Club, for example, said it "opposed any actions that would continually and unnecessarily contribute to the damage of the existing path and its associated noise and pollution".