Residents in a north Nottinghamshire town have backed their council leader who condemned a new cycle lane which cost more than half a million pounds. One man, who is currently homeless and living in a tent, hit out at the short cycle lane and argued it could have been "better spent elsewhere".
The new route in Sutton-in-Ashfield, which cost £535,000, runs from Station Road to Silk Street on the south-eastern side of High Pavement and between Langton Road and Mill Street on the northern side. County Councillor and Ashfield District Council Leader Jason Zadrozny said residents have criticised the new cycle lane and branded it a waste of money.
Ben Curry, who is sleeping rough in a tent in the town with his partner, was astounded to hear of the cost of the new and very short route. He told Nottinghamshire Live: "I'm living with my partner and we are waiting for a home, because she is not pregnant and we aren't a priority.
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"I worked from the age of 13 and had been paying my taxes. Now I'm living in a tent. It is a waste of money. I could have been better spent elsewhere."
The work was undertaken as part of the government's active travel fund. The county council secured £2.178m from the government via the fund and say a survey revealed 89% of the 131 cyclists who used the road regularly in October 2021 did so illegally, prompting the need for the new route.
However Peter Heely says he has always considered the road to be safe. He said: "For pedestrians it is fine. I know cyclists have been moaning.
"I would not say it is a bad road. The flow of traffic has always been really calm." Asked whether he thought it to be a waste of money he added: "That seems to be the main thing.
"Especially when you have got local roads with potholes everywhere."
And Kelly Stone, who has lived in Sutton all her life, added: "It is a complete waste of money. There are better things they could have spent it on here."
Councillor Neil Clarke, cabinet member for transport and environment at the county council, says: "High Pavement is a key cycle route in Sutton in Ashfield as it connects existing routes together to link them to the town centre. The road carried around 10,500 vehicles a day and can be intimidating for cyclists.
"We carried out surveys in 2021 and found that many cyclists were cycling on the pavement, which is illegal, and so the new cycle lane on High Pavement gives cyclists a safe route into and out of Sutton in Ashfield.
“This new route has been created thanks to funding from the Government. This funding cannot be used for roads maintenance and is ringfenced for schemes like the one on High Pavement.
“A number of schemes across Nottinghamshire were considered in our bid to the Department for Transport and so it is great news for Sutton in Ashfield that additional Government funding was used in the local area.
“This type of funding is quite separate and distinct from the council’s budget for road maintenance. We are already investing an extra £12 million in road maintenance over the course of this administration.”
