NATIONAL parks should be given more powers to protect the landscape from damage caused by off-road vehicles according to the Council for National Parks (CNP).

The CNP wants national parks to be able to impose vehicle restrictions on green lanes and other ancient tracks.

At the moment in order to get a restriction the parks have to work in conjunction with highway authorities.

In the Yorkshire Dales National Park there are traffic regulation orders in place on four green lanes, including Mastiles Lane between Kilnsey and Malham, which restrict their use to agricultural vehicles.

A survey carried out by the CNP has highlighted that the increasing use of off-road vehicles on rights of the way and the countryside is having a serious impact.

Policy officer at the CNP Donna O'Brian said: "Off-road driving is damaging wildlife, landscape and heritage as well as disturbing people seeking peace and quiet or making a living from the land."

She explained that some parks reported that they had regular convoys of four-wheeled drives coming with equipment ready to winch themselves out of ancient green lanes.

The CNP is calling for the Government to give national parks the authority to impose restrictions to help protect the landscape.

The council is also pressing for stronger enforcement of existing laws to control off-roading and to take steps to clearly indicate the status of routes.

Jon Avison, head of park management in the Yorkshire Dales, said he welcomed any initiative which would "streamline" the process of instigating traffic orders on green lanes.

"The system works at present, but it is an extremely long winded and tortuous route.

"The national park authority believes in principle that the use of recreational vehicles in the park is inappropriate," he said.

He accepted that there were already rights over some routes and it was important to work with the county council and the users groups to manage them properly.

The chairman of the Trail Riders Fellowship, a user group, told the Herald that any changes suggested by the CNP might make the problem even worse.

Geoff Wilson said: "The proposal of the CNP is nave because it is just another attempt at solving the problems by legislation. Almost 40 years have shown that legislation does not really work."

Mr Wilson suggested that the best way of resolving the problem would be to improve dialogue between all parties, the users, the national park and the Highway Authority to come to a solution.

He said that giving the national parks the responsibility for imposing orders might exacerbate concerns. Mr Wilson said he thought the parks would not be as fair as the county councils had been in the past.