Agenda item

Cycle Routes

It was moved by Councillor Ian Auckland, seconded by Councillor David Baker, that this Council:-

(a)       is delighted that the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ will take place in “God’s Own County” and will conclude its Yorkshire phase in Sheffield;

(b)       hopes the event will inspire hundreds of Sheffielders – young and old – to get out of their houses and onto their bikes;

(c)        therefore, welcomes news that the Liberal Democrats in Government have secured £5 million to improve cycle routes in the Peak District;

(d)       believes record investment in cycle infrastructure is yet another demonstration of the Liberal Democrats’ commitment in Government to building a stronger economy and a fairer society;

(e)       however, regrets that Sheffield City Council failed to submit a bid to the separate £77 million fund targeted at urban areas, which could have supported cyclists in the city-centre;

(f)        understands from local cyclists that numerous schemes could have been progressed had the Council been prepared for such a process and notes that in other cities the fund is being used to pursue new cycle lanes and 20 mph zones;

(g)       regrets that city-centre cyclists are now losing out as a result of the Administration’s lack of preparation or sheer incompetence; and

(h)       calls upon the Administration to develop a rolling list of priorities to ensure that future opportunities are not missed.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Leigh Bramall, seconded by Councillor Cate McDonald, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.         the deletion in paragraph (c) of the words “Liberal Democrats in Government” and their substitution by the words “present Administration”; and

2.         the deletion of paragraphs (d) to (h) and the addition of new paragraphs (d) to (i) as follows:-

(d)       regrets that the Liberal Democrats in Government abolished Cycling England and its £60 million annual budget and the Cycling City and Towns Programme that was established by the previous Government;

(e)       believes that the Government were mistaken to go soft on road safety, in abandoning the previous Government’s road death reduction targets;

(f)        is concerned by reports that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government said that the only people who were bothered about cycling were the “elite”;

(g)       remembers the Leader of the main opposition group’s comments criticising Council investment in cycling in 2011 stating “Labour have got their priorities wrong” as a result of investing in cycle lane schemes in Penistone Road, the Halfway to Killamarsh Connect 2 Route and a cycleway along Meadowhead, Bochum Parkway and Dykes Lane, and deplores the cynical hypocrisy of the main opposition group;

(h)       welcomes that the present Administration have already instructed officers to develop new routes which could benefit from future funding opportunities prior to the announcement of the Cycling Ambition Programme, and notes the lack of plans inherited from the previous Administration; and

(i)         further welcomes the present Administration’s commitment to commission a scrutiny committee review to look at how cycling can be delivered in the City, the most significant piece of work with cycling in the City’s history.

On being put to the vote the amendment was carried.

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED:  That this Council:-

(a)       is delighted that the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ will take place in “God’s Own County” and will conclude its Yorkshire phase in Sheffield;

(b)       hopes the event will inspire hundreds of Sheffielders – young and old – to get out of their houses and onto their bikes;

(c)        therefore, welcomes news that the present Administration have secured             £5 million to improve cycle routes in the Peak District;

(d)       regrets that the Liberal Democrats in Government abolished Cycling England and its £60 million annual budget and the Cycling City and Towns Programme that was established by the previous Government;

(e)       believes that the Government were mistaken to go soft on road safety, in abandoning the previous Government’s road death reduction targets;

(f)        is concerned by reports that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government said that the only people who were bothered about cycling were the “elite”;

(g)       remembers the Leader of the main opposition group’s comments criticising Council investment in cycling in 2011 stating “Labour have got their priorities wrong” as a result of investing in cycle lane schemes in Penistone Road, the Halfway to Killamarsh Connect 2 Route and a cycleway along Meadowhead, Bochum Parkway and Dykes Lane, and deplores the cynical hypocrisy of the main opposition group;

(h)       welcomes that the present Administration have already instructed officers to develop new routes which could benefit from future funding opportunities prior to the announcement of the Cycling Ambition Programme, and notes the lack of plans inherited from the previous Administration; and

(i)         further welcomes the present Administration’s commitment to commission a scrutiny committee review to look at how cycling can be delivered in the City, the most significant piece of work with cycling in the City’s history.

(Note: 1.Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Rob Frost, Sylvia Anginotti, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Penny Baker, Roger Davison, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Bob McCann, Katie Condliffe, David Baker, Alison Brelsford and Trevor Bagshaw voted for paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (h) and (i); and abstained on paragraphs (d) to (g) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.

2. Councillors Jillian Creasy and Robert Murphy voted for paragraphs (a) and (b),(c) (h) and (i); and abstained from voting on paragraphs (d) (e) (f) and (g) of the Motion and asked for this to be recorded.)