In my ten years as a Rye resident I’ve learned far more about motorbike owners than I care to. My early introduction to motorbikes in Rye was the unbelievably loud roar of a group of bikers leaving the town via Udimore Road late on a summer night not long after I’d moved here. Over the years I became accustomed to the echoing growl of illegally modified bikes and the sight of large groups of bikers revving their engines on the Strand, parking on the pavements, sitting on the wall like a murder of leather-clad crows, and, when the nearby toilets were closed, urinating into the undergrowth along the footpath rather than driving two minutes to the nearest open loos. If I even so much as looked directly at them, hoping, perhaps, for some sign of interest in anyone but themselves, I encountered a hostile stare, and that in a town that still astonishes me by its friendliness after spending most of my life in the suburbs.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen groups of bikers overtaking dangerously on the B2089 or the road to Camber, and every spring bank holiday seems to bring a serious accident or fatality involving a motorbike. Even after living in the far busier Chicago suburbs, where a motorbike killed a friend’s daughter and huge groups of Hell’s Angels would fill all four lanes of the highway on their way to Wisconsin, somehow they seem far more dangerous and intrusive in the English countryside.
But I’m a live-and-let-live woman on the whole, and came to accept motorbikes as a feature of the south coast in general and Rye in particular, like seagull poo on the car or cracked pavements and potholes. That changed when I attended a town council meeting last December, and learned two things. The first was that the Environment Agency (EA) owns the land at the Strand where the bikers park, and that they’d asked the council’s opinion on their wish to use that land for car parking instead (the council is firmly against the car park idea, and the EA appears to have dropped it). The second was that the number of complaints about the bikers was high enough that consideration was being given to applying for a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to improve the quality of life for residents and business owners around the Strand area. After a vigorous debate during which councillors expressed opinions for and against the bikers remaining at the quay, the council voted to support the EA’s plan by six votes in favour with three against and two abstentions.
After which, the seagull poo hit the fan as the biker community splattered Facebook with posts of outrage, declaring that they had been parking on the Strand for decades and inferring that they had the right to do so in perpetuity. They would “force” Rye Town Council to change their decision! The bikers brought so much money into the town! (An assertion that was challenged at the council meeting, and I must agree I’ve rarely seen anyone in motorcycle leathers on the High Street). As it turned out, the noise about “forcing” a change of heart resulted in two men speaking up at the town council meeting on 26 January to ask if the question of a PSPO could be revisited, claiming that infringements of the law should be a police matter, to which the best answer was Councillor Fiddimore pointing out that nobody should be breaking the law in the first place. At the same meeting, the Rugby Club offered space to the bikers, even promising to tarmac their drive to avoid damage to bikes. The message that the bikers are not listening to is that they are welcome, but they have outgrown their welcome in that particular location.
My contribution to the debate was repeatedly pointing out on Facebook that the council wasn’t to blame for the idea of changing the use of the Strand area, since it was owned by the Environment Agency, a point I was still trying to get across today when blame was now being thrown at incomers “trying to change Rye”. Neither the council nor any particular segment of Rye’s population is mounting a campaign against the bikers; it is the Environment Agency’s land and, having spent a stupendous amount of money on transforming its ancient infrastructure into a safe and much smarter mooring that’s apparently attracting far more boat owners, the Environment Agency is looking to make something more commercially viable out of it than a free parking space for boys with big bikes. Perhaps they are hoping to provide a more welcoming space for boat owners who, unlike the bikers, pay to be there and use the land? Whatever their motives, it’s their land and nobody else — let me repeat that, Ryers, nobody else — is actually proposing to deter the bikers from parking there.
But let’s get to the point of what’s really driven me to write this opinion piece. I was at the town council’s annual meeting last week, and a gentleman behind me got up to protest once more about the PSPO, which, as had already been announced at the meeting, had been rejected anyway by the council (Rother or ESCC? I wasn’t sure). The biker community were saints! Angels! Pussycats! They were going to do some self-policing! And they spent SO much money in the town, etc. etc. Uh-huh.
And then another gentleman directly behind me got up to ask why the Heritage Centre is allowed to continue in its premises for a peppercorn rent when the building could be earning MILLIONS for the town. He went on in that vein for a while, despite the councillors pointing out that they had explored other options and found them wanting, and that the Heritage Centre is a major tourist asset. I was tired, and it wasn’t until I got home that the penny dropped — this attempt to discredit the Heritage Centre was because its management has been publicly critical of the bikers, since they are in prime position to see anti-social behaviour happening. Pussycats? I think not. I saw a line being crossed.
So let me leave you with this thought. What would a biker-free Strand look like? Would the businesses nearby really suffer? Not only would the residents of Strand Court and other nearby housing enjoy a quieter life, I would argue that that area — where at least one commercial premises has constantly struggled to keep tenants — could become a family-friendly space that would increase business for the various nearby shops and restaurants. We could return to the days when far more use was made of that space by the town — I can remember a lot more happening there before the pandemic. Churches Together’s Good Friday service could pause there for a few prayers and hymns without being drowned out by deliberate engine revving. We could use the pedestrian crossings more safely. Boat owners could park, dog walkers could walk, and the picnic tables would be occupied by people grateful for a space to sit down that isn’t somebody’s steps or front garden (admittedly, seagull deterrent measures might be necessary). The town would have an asset, the bikers would be welcomed elsewhere, and the Environment Agency wouldn’t have to worry about bike stands damaging their tarmac.
So yes, I’m now firmly in favour of the Environment Agency’s wish to move the bikers on. I can put up with a lot, but the bikers have shown us recently who they really are, and they’ve lost my sympathy entirely.
Image Credits: Rye News Library , Tony Roi .
It would be good to read more balanced views
Ted Jackson
Thankfully decisions are made by consensus at council and not personal taste, or distaste in this case. Preferring “Prayers & hymns” on the Strand? oh my goodness.
The author here clearly has clearly an issue with “boys with big bikes”, seeing machinations & conspiracy and seems to presume to apply it to every last biker – most of whom are surely oblivious. Decades of this practice cannot be cancelled because some folks – now – don’t like it.
The Strand & wider area is both an urban & a touristic one. Part of Rye’s visual & cultural charm is that it’s not (yet) homogenous. The rough & the smooth, the chocolate box & the ramshackle, the gents & the pirates – in my view this is central to its character. If we let Rye become too tame, genteel & gentrified (for want of a better word), it would become bland.
I suggest we live & let live. Improve safety & amenity – for all – by all means, there are surely more creative ways to do so than to snuff out the bikers raucous riverside pit-stop entirely.
Jane, you are a brave person to post this considered and balanced opinion piece. Sadly, you may get some nasty responses I fear. In the 13 years that I have lived in Rye (not near the Strand) I have observed perfectly acceptable biker behaviour on the roads and at the Strand but I have also seen and heard the bikes at times that seemed antisocial and illegal (passing on a curve, littering, being illegally loud). I agree, let the Environmental Agency do what they want with the land—perhaps a small park with no parking allowed? Facilites for boaters? A fenced play area for children? And if kept for biker parking, it’s time to charge a parking fee. It’s public land and paying for parking seems quite fair.
It’s definitely about time one group of motorists stopped getting free parking while everyone else pays through the nose! And “creative” free parking on pavements should result in a large fine for both motorcyclists and car drivers, since it’s a real problem for many pedestrians.
My guess is that the EA will eventually want to reserve the area for boater parking. That’s a discussion for another day!
Many others get free parking in this town jane, the bowls,the cricket, it sadly is not a level playing field,only for the privileged few.
It’s private land with public access, slightly different.
An excellent article, and an important counter-balance to the revved-up bluster of the biker apologists. I would love to see a proper study into the economic value of the bikers to the town. I expect it would fall far short of many people’s expectations.
I agree. The bikers just don’t move far enough from their expensive bikes (with good reason I imagine) to spend much money in the shops. A coffee in the nearby cafés, a quick breakfast, or a round of fish and chips may make a difference to the eateries near the quay, but I doubt they’re having much impact on the High Street.
10 years as a Rye resident eh? A mere dog watch in the recent history of Rye I would suggest.
Much impact on the High Street? Of course the bikers would like to buy the odd antique table, a six person dinner service or even perhaps a fine work of art. It’s really easy to pack these things onto the back of a motorbike, we all know that.
Not being a fan of blanket punishment, I didn’t agree with the idea of the motorbikes being banned from the Quay. However, I fear that the genuine bikers are being tarred with the same brush as the groups of youngsters who run riot during the evening and night time. This is a nationwide problem. While I waited for a bus in Hastings town centre yesterday, I witnessed 2 lots of teens on track bikes who were charging through the traffic in the wrong direction, and then disappeared into the pedestrian area…I only hope that there were no casualties as a result. It doesn’t actually take much to surmise that situations such as these are only taking place as there is no police presence.
Kids on dirt bikes are definitely a problem, but it’s not the issue I’m talking about. What, exactly, is a “genuine biker”? What, exactly, entitles grown men on expensive bikes to expect free parking in the first place? Why is it OK for them to park on the pavement? Let’s not distract from the issue with whataboutism.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to Strand Court, having used us in your campaign then I think it’s only fair that come and hear what we think, I’m sure while you’re down here the manager of the Visitors centre would be more than pleased to give you his opinion too.
I also notice you make no mention of cars with strait through exhaust running round the town.
As for attracting far more boats, that comment alone shows how long you’ve lived here, there was a time when the strand was packed with boats and yes the bikers were there then and made welcome as they still are by many in Rye including the majority of us who actually live on the river.
Good article Jane!
I agree with your comment regarding “whataboutism” (a great term incidentally). This issue isn’t about fairness, balance and reason, it’s about one section of the community being victimised by another.
It more or less doesn’t matter where you live in Rye as at some time or another you are going to be distressingly impacted by the behaviour of someone who selfishly puts their fun and games ahead of your entitlement to quiet enjoyment of your own home or garden. “I don’t care about you, I’m going to do what I like!”
It’s difficult to think of any comparable legal behaviour that people would spring to defend so vociferously. This highlights the irony here. We can all feel and hear just how bad biker noise is (and consistently complain about it) but our laws permit us to be tormented. How can this possibly be right?
As a footnote, please can I once again correct the misnomer about noisy bikes being illegally modified. Virtually none of them are. The laws (such as they are) relating to motorbike noise are so weak and toothless that you don’t have to fiddle with your exhaust in order to wake the dead!