Active travel campaigners blast “clumsy, unworkable, and discriminatory” plan to ban cycling in Birmingham city centre, which council says will target delivery cyclists “speeding around city without care”

Birmingham could be the latest city in the UK to implement a controversial ban on people riding bikes in pedestrianised areas, after a new report by the local authority recommended adding cycling to a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) designed to tackle anti-social behaviour, a move the council claims will enable it to crack down on delivery couriers “moving around the city centre at speed and without care for pedestrians”.

However, active travel campaigners in Birmingham have called for the proposed PSPO – variations of which have been criticised across the country by cycling groups and activists – to be dropped immediately, arguing that it is “clumsy and unworkable” and will make parts of the city centre “impermeable for cycling”, discriminate against people who use cycles as mobility aids, and fail to stamp out nuisance or dangerous behaviour.

Public Space Protection Orders, or PSPOs, banning cycling in pedestrian zones, and giving council officers the power to fine people riding bikes, have been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years.

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Despite their apparent aim to deter anti-social or nuisance behaviour in town and city centres, several local authorities who have implemented the measures have been criticised for instead imposing sometimes hefty fines on people riding their bikes safely in pedestrian zones.

In Grimsby, for instance, where the fines have become something of a long-running saga, council officers have been accused of targeting “old and slow” cyclists using their bikes to get into town and visit the shops, while ignoring youths “racing up and down”.

Active travel charity Cycling UK has long been a prominent critic of PSPOs, which it claims have the effect of criminalising cycling and discouraging people from riding into town, while failing to combat actual nuisance behaviour.

“Some councils have used PSPOs as a geographically defined version of an ASBO to restrict the use of public space and criminalise behaviour not normally regarded as illegal,” Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK's head of campaigns, has previously said.

Nevertheless, Birmingham City Council has this week pressed on with plans to consult on adding cycling in pedestrian zones to the city’s PSPO, which is due to expire early next year and currently includes a ban on large-scale gatherings, graffiti, and street drinking.

A new report submitted to the council’s cabinet member for social justice, community safety, and equalities recommended imposing fines on people riding bikes in certain parts of the city centre, along with other new restrictions on illegal street trading.

The report, which is set to go to public consultation, claimed that the mixing of pedestrians and cyclists can be a “dangerous combination” – despite its concerns focusing mainly on e-bike riding delivery couriers.

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“This issue is increasing as food, letter, and parcel couriers utilise e-cycles, other cycles, and load-bearing carriers to move around the city centre at speed and without care for other pedestrians,” the report said.

“Unfortunately, the safety of pedestrians and cyclists mixing can be a dangerous combination. Under these circumstances, it would be appropriate to consider whether cycling in pedestrian-only areas should be stopped where there is a high footfall.

“This could be restricted by time periods or other measures to encourage the use of cycles safely and ensure the use of cycles is not hindered. Further consideration is needed with respect to this measure, which will be captured in the consultation.

“Wide-reaching city centre PSPOs have been utilised across other local authorities with successful results.”

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However, despite its rather ambitious claims that the PSPOs have been successful elsewhere, the plans have been criticised by active travel campaign group Better Streets for Birmingham, who have called on the council to drop the proposals “immediately”.

“Last week, the Cabinet Member for Social Justice made a decision to consult on a proposed ban of cycling in pedestrian zones in Birmingham City Centre,” the group said in a statement.

“We regret that the PSPO has been proposed by City Operations at the Council, given that it directly contravenes several of the council’s own transport policies and will disproportionally impact people who use their cycles as mobility aids.

“The PSPO seeks to address unacceptable cycling behaviours that are already illegal in several ways while suggesting banning all cycling in pedestrian areas and making parts of the city centre impermeable for cycling.

“Food couriers cause issues on high streets across the city, however we must also acknowledge that they are exploited by delivery platforms such as Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats, who appear to have little interest in fixing the problems of illegal parking and dangerous cycling that they create.

“We would rather see existing legal orders (TROs) in the city centre revised to enable safe and considerate cycling – that the Council’s own report appears to be happy with – while assisting those on illegal modified e-bikes to transition to legal bikes.

“We call on City Operations to drop this clumsy and unworkable proposal immediately.”

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In response to the group’s criticism, a Birmingham City Council spokesperson said the proposed PSPO would attempt to decreases instances of “cycling at speed”, and of cyclists making certain city centre areas “unsafe” due to the “likelihood of near misses and collisions”.

“The council is seeking to renew an existing PSPO in respect of anti-social behaviour and considering new restrictions where anti-social behaviour is evident. This is being done specifically to improve the safety of people in the city centre,” the spokesperson said.

“We are considering measures to try and decrease instances of cycling at speed through one small area of the city centre where there is high footfall, and it is unsafe to cycle due to the likelihood of near misses and collisions.

“This does not impact on the council’s commitment to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists as part of ongoing developments and its transportation plan.

“Before any decisions are made, we are seeking the views of all through a consultation in how best to manage the issue. It may be that appropriate restrictions should be introduced in this pedestrian only area to restrict all cycles, some cycles, manage the direction of cycles to provide a safe flow of movement, or take no action in this issue.

“To inform this consideration we would encourage all residents and community groups to make their voices heard once when the consultation is opened.”

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As noted above, similar cycling ban PSPOs have proven an almost constant source of controversy and tension in the areas where they’ve been introduced in recent years.

Just this week, the chair of a cycling campaign in Bedford lamented the “large drop in residents cycling” into town caused by the council’s “aggressive” implementation of its PSPO, which has reportedly seen 738 people fined for riding bikes in the town centre over the past few months.

And the day before, a senior doctor urged Worcester policy makers to see past “so much negativity locally” and implement safe cycling routes that encourage and enable people to leave their cars at home for short local journeys, in a bid to “redress the balance” of the city’s cycling discourse, which has focused predominantly on its cycling ban, branded a “psychological barrier” to people using bicycles.

Last month we also reported that another cyclist had been ordered to pay £500 for riding through Grimsby town centre, as a local councillor insisted that cyclists “who have not followed rules” will be “rightly punished”.

Grimsby’s council has also begun trialling the playing of a “no cycling” message on loud speakers every 15 minutes in the town centre, as part of its attempt to combat the “anti-social behaviour”.