School headteacher backs "very exciting" cycle lane to keep children safe... but councillors claim "barking mad" scheme will "shrink" space for cars

A headteacher of a junior school in Cumbria has expressed excitement at the prospect of new cycle lanes being built, one outside the school to enable more children and families to make safe and active journeys to and from the site. There is less excitement from local councillors however, many claiming the proposed infrastructure would "shrink" space for motorists and slow down traffic.

The News & Star has picked up on the situation in Whitehaven, where a Cumberland Council consultation closes on 9 February. It concerns plans to improve active travel in the town, with new cycle lanes, shared-use routes and improved pedestrian crossings proposed.

The council has made it clear the planning funding up until now has come from a grant from Active Travel England, not local budgets, and cannot be spent on general road maintenance or pothole repairs. If backed, Cumberland Council would then bid for more funding to pay for the scheme's design and construction.

Part of the proposal is for a wider shared-use path and a new crossing outside St Begh's Catholic Junior School, something the headteacher Catherine Mallard told the local newspaper looks "very exciting" and would "greatly improve" the quality and safety of active journeys for pupils, encouraging more families to join the "good proportion" who already walk, cycle or wheel to school.

"As well as improving the safety of our children's journey to school with the addition of a crossing, the quality of journeys would be greatly improved too," she explained. "The plans are aimed at making walking and cycling more attractive options by smartening up routes and widening pathways to allow walking and cycling to take place side by side.

"We already have a good proportion of families choosing walking and cycling and to see that encouraged by providing beautiful routes around town is great."

The council is still seeking local opinions on the plans and stressed that the funding for the infrastructure would still need to be applied for if the scheme is approved locally. However, the local authority also pointed out that the Whitehaven Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) highlighted that 74 per cent of respondents said improvements to cycling and walking routes would encourage them to walk and cycle more often.

Away from the school, other plans include routes from Whitehaven Harbour to Esk Avenue and Coach Road to Corkickle Station, a new two-way cycle lane planned among other changes.

While the school's headteacher and the LCWIP highlighted support for boosting active travel, the local press reported that a council meeting about the plans heard plenty of criticism from councillors, some expressing concerns about the impact on motor traffic.

"I'm not for it," Cllr Johnnie Carr said. "It's taking away two lay-bys and a bus stop. Further on down, they are also taking away a drop-off point for Enterprise. They said there are only four buses per hour that use that bus stop. That's Stagecoach buses but Hobans and Sellafield have been there twice today and they're not taking that into account.

"The road would shrink down by more than a metre to make way for the cycle track. They can't route it through the market. It's another set of traffic lights that would be put in as well between Asda and the vets. That road is a bottleneck at the best of times.

"St Begh's School are going to get a wider path and a crossing. From that side of things, it really works but for this bit, not at all.

"You've got a junction, the multi-story car park and Sellafield offices. It's just going to be stop-start, stop-start. It doesn't seem to work. It's not something we are desperate for."

Likewise, Cllr Ryan Taylor said it would cause traffic to back-up and that while "some parts seem good", other bits are "absolutely barking mad".

There was some support, Cllr Robert White taking a less outraged stance and pointing out it seemed "sensible enough" and similar designs work "in towns across the country".

"Things stop-start but that's how traffic is shared within a town centre," he added. "People on mobility scooters will be using it and other people commuting."

A spokesperson from the council responded to some of the concerns and confirmed one of the bus stops in question "will not be removed" and "contemporary design guidance is being considered" along with "best practice learning from elsewhere".

"With regard concerns about usage, previous consultation on the Whitehaven Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) showed that 74 per cent of respondents said improvements to cycling and walking routes would encourage them to walk and cycle more often," the spokesperson said.

"74 per cent identified busy roads as a reason why it is difficult to cycle, and 76 per cent would like to see cycle routes in Whitehaven separated from other modes of travel. 91 per cent said they would support active travel improvements even when this could mean less space for other road traffic.

"The routes that are being consulted on are a priority within the Whitehaven LCWIP. The section from the Harbour to Esk Avenue is also part of the popular Sustrans C2C cycle route and also Hadrian's Cycleway. 

"This consultation is a stepping stone in the process to develop designs which we can then be used to support applications for funding to deliver the infrastructure. In 2024 we secured funding from Active Travel England to improve the cycleway between Esk Avenue and Mirehouse Road.

"We welcome comments on the designs, including from local businesses, and will take these on board taking the design forward to the next stage."

The consultation closes on February 9.

Any infrastructure is likely to beat the Valley Link off-road cycle path at Mirehouse, just south of Whitehaven, that was last January dubbed Britain's crappest cycling route, that after it was covered in sewage.

United Utilities said it was because of a sewer blockage and subsequent flooding, the grim incident described as "absolutely vile" and "unacceptable" by local residents and politicians after schoolchildren were forced to trudge through raw sewage that had spilled onto the path.