A COUNCIL bid for government cycling money has been dismissed as “poor” and “inadequate” amid more calls for further investment.

County MPs, councillors and cycling campaigners have all called for greater investment in Worcestershire’s cycling network with one group criticising the bid for entirely missing the point.

Worcestershire County Council submitted a bid to the Department for Transport with a hope of getting its hands on £1.3 million to create extra space on the roads for cyclists – including pop-up cycle lanes, pavement widening, safer junctions and bus-and-bike-only areas.

The bid comes after Councillor Alan Amos, the council’s cabinet member for highways, dismissed calls for further investment calling the growth in popularity of cycling during lockdown “just a phase” and the council needed to focus on all forms of transport.

Redditch MP and government transport minister Rachel Maclean wrote to Cllr Amos last week welcoming the council’s bid but stressed public transport – particularly buses – could not be the only option and the “diverse” county would benefit from a better-connected cycle network.

West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin also tweeted support for her Conservative colleague and for more further investment in cycling.

Green councillor Matthew Jenkins, who has led several calls for more investment in cycling infrastructure in Worcester and the rest of the county, said the council’s bid was “pretty poor” after requesting the contents of the bid was made public at a council cabinet meeting earlier this month.

The council’s bid said it would focus on key routes across Worcestershire including parts of the A38 between the city, the Ketch roundabout and Kempsey, routes between Worcester, Droitwich and Fernhill Health and Blackpole, as well as routes to Worcestershire Parkway and some routes between the city and Malvern.

City cycling campaigners Bike Worcester said the council’s bid was “inadequate” and did not go far enough to address most of the key aims set out by the government for the funding – including pop-up bike lanes, widened pavements, and cycle and bus-only corridors – to help people social distance in busy areas.

The group said plans to add more white lines along some routes would be “useless” and was not optimistic the county would receive any government funding because the bid had not met the criteria.

In a letter tweeted by the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group (APPGCW), Cllr Amos said: “The recent guidance from government largely applies to London and city areas so it is not likely to be particularly relevant to a county like ours.”

Cllr Amos said the county had higher than average amount of drivers and lower than average amount of public transport users which meant much of the guidance was “not applicable” to Worcestershire and maintained cycling was more a “leisure pursuit.”

Cllr Amos reiterated at a meeting of the council’s cabinet earlier this month, according to council data, only one per cent of commuters cycled to work.

“We have got to balance our priorities,” he said on June 4. “There is a fundamental question here. Is what is happening temporarily now going to become permanent? The reality is that only one per cent of commuters cycle to work. Having said that, 11 per cent [of the budget] goes on walking and cycling. Our policy is to support all forms of transport.”

Cllr Jenkins dismissed Cllr Amos’s cycling figures as “misleading and inappropriate” and came from a survey that asked bus users whether they would cycle if they could not get a bus.

A spokesman for Worcestershire County Council said: “We remain committed to improving walking and cycling routes across the county.

On May 9, the Government announced funding for walking and cycling, as an emergency active travel fund to deliver measures to tackle Covid-19. 

"Worcestershire County Council has been provisionally allocated a total of £1,353,000 from this fund.

“Plans include enhancements to the Redditch to Bromsgrove cycle route, A38 south of Worcester between Ketch and Kempsey and to the existing A449 Malvern to Worcester cycle route. We are also developing a “Park Your Bike” scheme that will seek to increase the provision of cycle parking in businesses, education and retail locations across the county.

“Worcestershire County Council has invested millions in a wide range of infrastructure and services to support walking and cycling across the county over the last two decades and has earmarked a record £8.3 million extra funding for improving and extending footways this year and next. We are continuing to develop plans and will continue investing walking and cycling in Worcestershire.”

Cllr Amos did not respond to a request for comment on Monday (June 15).

Cllr Dan Boatright, who represents Pershore on Wychavon District Council, said: “It is disappointing to hear Cllr Amos call the current upsurge in cycling ‘just a phase.’

“This is a real opportunity to change our habits and reset commuting in the area.

“Throughout the district we are hearing residents and local groups call for improved active travel routes so that we can join up our towns and villages and get Worcestershire moving in a green, carbon neutral way.

“We need to join up towns such as Pershore to our surrounding villages with safe, car-free walkways and cycleways.

“While we would like to see faster change, the Liberal Democrats welcome the interventions from Rachel Maclean that we need to look at more than public transport.

“If we make cycling off road and safe, we will improve commuting time, air quality and public health. Focusing the emergency fund on existing routes and bike racks is not joining up the county and enabling people to get to work and school effectively."