Foot and Cycleway Improvement Projects - The Illusion of Consultation (South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats)

South East Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats <info@secambslibdems.org.uk>

Foot and Cycleway Improvement Projects - The Illusion of Consultation

September 30, 2009 6:59 PM

Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have welcomed the news that a £2.3 million package of improvements to cycle routes has been approved by Cambridgeshire County Council, but have raised serious questions about the way in which the scheme has been developed and implemented.

The scheme has caused considerable consternation in communities where the new cycle route is expected to replace the existing school bus service. Services which will be particularly affected are those from Babraham to Sawston, Horningsea to Fen Ditton, and Milton to Impington Village College.

County Cllr Kilian Bourke, Lib Dem Spokesperson for Public Transport, said "We fully support the encouragement of a modal shift away from the motor car, and towards cycling and walking. However, the Conservatives have gone about this in a bungling and hamfisted way, by failing to consult the public on the scheme."

"The Conservatives initially claimed that full consultation had taken place. However, when I asked for more information about the consultation process, the Council quickly retracted its use of the word "consultation", and admitted that it had simply "provided an opportunity for views to be expressed."

Cllr Bourke added: "The 'consultation' involved the Council telling local residents what was going to happen, listening to their concerns, and then going ahead and doing exactly what was intended from the outset. This is the illusion of consultation."

The Liberal Democrats have proposed a solution.

"We suggest that school bus services ought to remain in place for a transitory period of two years, during which local families would have an opportunity to adjust to the new arrangements. At the end of this period a proper consultation ought to take place, at which residents views would really be taken into account, and a decision on the school bus service could be made."