Following the publication by Sefton Council of the consultation results on the second phase of cycle lane plans and their consideration by Sefton’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee last night, Lib Dem Leader, Cllr. John Pugh has described the controversial plans as probably “dead in the water”
Councillors of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee met last night to discuss the publication of the consultation results. Cabinet member for Locality Services Cllr Fairclough, did not attend the meeting as expected.
Cllr Pugh says: “The scrutiny process has just underlined what is already known. There is precious little evidence of broad support for the schemes as outlined and much evidence of public anxiety and opposition.
“The Council will be loathe to use the generous government funding available in the absence of “broad support”. That is an expected requirement at the moment.
“Protracting this process has given space for mature re-consideration and a better understanding of what the public and cyclists themselves genuinely want.
“Hopefully there will be some graceful back pedalling from the current Sefton administration and we can all have time to learn the right lessons and perhaps find a way of using the government funding in a way the public can understand and support.
“Sadly there has been no evidence that any of Sefton plans so far emerged from the community, local councillors or even local cyclists and that’s where the Council need to begin.
“Instead there is a widespread feeling that the public are being patronised by people who appear to understand the area only in a very superficial way.
“The Southport public are not blind to issues of road safety, car dependence or climate change, but they do have a healthy degree of good Lancashire commonsense as well.”
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