On March 12th 1986, at the offices of the Auto-Cycle Union in Rugby, LARA’s first constitution was drafted at a meeting of the leading motor sport and recreation organisations.
LARA was established as a non-corporate, non-profit making association. And it is an ‘association’ within the true meaning of the word; being neither a club with its own membership, nor a governing body of any sort. What LARA does, is enable the various motoring organisations to collaborate and present a united front when dealing with central and local government and other public authorities.
LARA’s purpose is to protect, promote and facilitate access to land and public highways to enable their use, by both two and four wheeled motor vehicles, for recreation, but also for the benefit of all users of public rights of way.
LARA’s key aims are to:
- protect and safeguard all minor highways, both sealed and unsealed, to preserve their character, heritage value and availability for use by the public; particularly for people who are unable to enjoy more physically active means of travel;
- promote and facilitate the interests of competitive motor vehicle activity, especially in respect of access to the countryside;
- support the recording, use and maintenance of vehicular rights of way for the recreation, health and wellbeing of the public as a whole.
There have inevitably been significant challenges. These including both evolving and unforeseeable existential threats, stemming from the vagaries of the political process and bringing to mind the words credited to Chancellor Otto von Bismarck that: “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made”. But LARA has continued to be successful in championing public access and challenging those who seek to exclude others from accessing the natural environment by means of their chosen pastime, with the health and wellbeing benefits that this brings.
