Sefton Council has hit back over Damien Moore’s announcement suggesting he had secured an extension to the deadline of a local cycle lane consultation.
Southport MP Damien Moore had announced an extension to the deadline for residents and businesses to submit their views on plans to extend the cycle lane scheme through Southport, which has now been extended to 25 July.
The Council deny Mr Moore’s claims that he secured an extension, saying it was due to the volume of feedback.
Cllr John Fairclough, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Locality Services, said: “Southport’s MP has not secured an extension and this is the latest in a series of misleading communications issued over the Southport Walking & Cycling Route consultation.”
The “Your Streets Your Say” consultation is seeking views from residents over the potential implementation of cycle-friendly routes through Southport. The main focus of the scheme is two new routes in Southport, one from Hesketh Park to the Plough roundabout, and another from Birkdale to Ainsdale.
If completed, a cycle-friendly route would stretch all the way from Crosby to the Plough roundabout.
The Conservatives have led the opposition to the scheme, which has attracted over 3,000 signatories on a petition against its implementation. Mr Moore’s office also highlighted that there was no consultation prior to measures introduced into Southport town centre last year, notably the closure of Queens Road to traffic and lanes along Hoghton Street.
Southport MP Damien Moore said: “These proposals to extend cycle lanes through Southport will have a huge impact on people who live in our town, as well as on local businesses.
“I have raised this matter with the Transport Minister, who has confirmed to me that Sefton Council was under no obligation to apply for funding through the Emergency Active Travel Fund – which was designed for towns which had a real need for an expansion in infrastructure for cycling.
“My office has been inundated with concerns regarding the consultation, highlighting the fact that the council had only targeted certain households with information flyers, rather than providing all those impacted with information on the plans.
“Many residents on the roads where the lanes are set to be added still don’t know of the plans, which is why I wrote to the council to ask that more time be given to collect feedback. The council responded to confirm that the deadline would be pushed-back to late July, and that they would review their communications strategy with a view to engaging with all those affected.
“Very serious concerns have been raised with me regarding many aspects of the proposals – concerns I share. One business I met with has estimated a loss of around 20% in footfall among their elderly customers due to the removal of parking bays.”
“The new cycle lanes in our town centre have been disastrous. Removing the pay and display bays along Hoghton Street not only costs the council £137,000 in lost revenue every year, but also costs
businesses due to the resulting reduction in customer numbers.
“Southport is a tourist town which heavily relies on visitors to support our local economy. Our town attracted over nine million visitors in 2019, and through the very exciting proposals we are developing through the Southport Town Deal we plan to attract many more.
“It is madness therefore to consider plans which would make it much more difficult for families wanting to drive into Southport, especially as local businesses need all the customers they can get as we seek to rebuild from the devastation of the pandemic.
“We all know how busy the arterial roads into and out of Southport can get on a hot summer day – adding a major expansion in cycle lanes is a recipe for disaster.
“I am resolutely against these cycle lane proposals. They will seriously undermine the good work we are doing in Southport, and shows a serious lack of joined-up thinking by Sefton Council.
“I would encourage people to submit their views via the consultation.”
Cllr John Fairclough, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Locality Services, said: “Southport’s MP has not secured an extension and this is the latest in a series of misleading communications issued over the Southport Walking & Cycling Route consultation.
“Owing to the volume of feedback and response so far, a decision has been taken by our expert Active Travel team to extend the consultation period until July 25, to allow for more people to have their say.
“We have promoted this consultation far and wide using regional media, social media, printed leaflets to every home and businesses within 500m of the consultation area and will continue to ensure everyone is fully aware that they are able to contribute.
“There are also no plans to completely close roads to traffic. We want to encourage people to walk and cycle more often, as does Mr Moore’s government.
“I would like to remind Mr Moore that Sefton, as with all councils, have been asked by his government to look into ideas which increase the amount of walking and cycling in our communities.
“The consultation is just that. It is designed solely to look at possible changes, including pop-up cycle lanes as well as low-traffic neighbourhoods to encourage people to do fewer short journeys by car and instead choose to walk or cycle.
“Low-traffic neighbourhoods, which exist across the country, include minor changes to traffic flow in certain highly populated areas to discourage ‘rat running’ and improve cleaner and greener methods of travel.
“I think it is also important to recognise that between one fifth and one third of Southport households do not have access to a car.
“Walking, cycling and public transport are their only means of travel and we want to make it easier and safer for them to do this, again in line with the Government’s Levelling Up scheme.
“This includes many children, young people and more elderly residents, indeed the Government’s walking and cycling strategy calls for cycling provisions to be accessible to everyone from 8 to 80 and beyond.
“As we have stated on numerous occasions, the ideas put forward within this consultation are building blocks to encourage the development of future ideas, whatever they may be, and we are engaging with everyone to identify what works best for all involved.”
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