Southport Businesses at Risk as Sefton Council Pursues More Cycle Lane Projects

Rejected by Residents, Repackaged by Council: Cycle Lane Plans Return

The LCWIP is simply Sefton Council trying to impose more cycle lanes on Southport and the rest of Sefton via the back door says Conservative Leader on Sefton Council, Mike Prendergast.

Later this week Sefton Council’s Cabinet will approve the adoption of a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). This will effectively give the go ahead for a whole new set of cycle lane projects across Southport and other parts of Sefton.

Commenting Councillor Prendergast said, “This is just the latest attempt by Sefton Council to impose more of these ridiculous schemes on our local communities. The cycle lanes in Southport town centre have reduced town centre parking, negatively impacted local businesses and need to be scrapped.”

“In the new LCWIP, the proposed route for much of the Southport plans are almost identical to those overwhelmingly rejected by local people several years ago when Labour wanted to extend the existing town centre scheme across the whole town.”

“They just won’t take no for an answer and have now repackaged their failed proposal with a new name in the hope that people won’t notice.”

“There is also the bizarre proposal to put a cycle lane down the middle of The Promenade and make Nevill Street left turn only. It really is crackpot stuff from people who haven’t got a clue how to improve our town and who seem utterly determined to make it harder for local businesses to make a living.”

The previous cycle lane extension proposal, stretching from Crossens to Ainsdale, in Southport was rejected following a consultation which received over 4000 responses. At the time, the Labour cabinet member indicated that he felt the wrong kind of people had taken part in the consultation.

The consultation on the proposed LCWIP garnered just over 300 responses yet will form the basis for huge changes and millions in taxpayer money being spent across Sefton.

Sefton’s response to the previous proposals being rejected is to double down, and put forward an even bigger scheme.

Mike Prendergast said, “Conservatives on Sefton Council are the only party in Sefton who have consistently opposed these pointless and unnecessary schemes. Now Sefton Council want to roll this out again in Southport and across Sefton in Formby, Blundellsands Crosby, Waterloo, Maghull and Bootle.”

“This is not a priority for the vast majority of local residents and businesses. We should be delivering changes that people want to see not wasting time and taxpayer money on this.”