Concerns over maintenance of new Gloucester £15m cycle route

Concerns a planned cycle route could become a "£15m white elephant" if not properly maintained have been raised by a councillor.

Gloucestershire County Council has started to build a 26-mile (41.8km) cycle route that will connect Gloucester to Cheltenham.

However, councillor Ben Evans fears there are a lack of concrete maintenance plans.

The council said regular inspections would be carried out to the cycleway.

Lib Dem councillor Mr Evans told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he feared hedges would overgrow and impinge on the cycle lane, forcing cyclists onto a narrow road which would be unsafe.

He was also concerned the route would not be gritted in the winter.

Mr Evans said a Conservative cabinet member told him these issues would be thought about "later."

"It is a feature of this project that it does not seem to have been thought through or planned at all well," Mr Evans said.

Highways cabinet member Dominic Morris said he confirmed to Mr Evans that regular inspections would be carried out to check the condition of the cycleway and to plan for maintenance.

"It will be included in the review of our adverse weather plan to make sure our key routes are usable and safe in all weathers," he said.

Mr Morris said the cycleway was part of a wider ambition which would extend across the county, eventually connecting Stroud to Bishop's Cleeve in the north.

"This route significantly improves our walking and cycling infrastructure while helping to create a greener Gloucestershire by reducing carbon emissions and improving public health," he added.

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