A Green city councillor has claimed she felt “bullied” by the cycling lobby to support plans for a pump track in Battenhall, accusing the group of placing “inexcusable pressure” on council members and officers, with the cycling campaign group saying that it took the allegation “very seriously”.

Speaking at a Worcester City Council committee meeting on Monday, Councillor Elena Round said lobbying by Bike Worcester during the planning of the Battenhall track earlier this year had crossed a line.

She said: “Officers and councillors were being placed under inexcusable pressure to deliver the Battenhall pump track, and I found myself at the receiving end of bullying and intimidation to vote a particular way.

“This kind of lobbying of councillors and officers is just not acceptable. It beggars belief that an unelected lobby group that only has a single issue to campaign can exert so much power within the decision-making of this council.”

She referred to a January 2024 meeting at which councillors approved plans for the Battenhall pump track. Members of the public, including Bike Worcester representatives, spoke in support of the scheme.

“Worcester residents encountered this lobbying even at the city-led consultation at the local church,” Cllr Round added. “The problem with such lobby groups is they are only concerned with one issue, to the exclusion of wider issues. It is for this committee to balance this lobby group’s demands with the needs of the wider community.”

Bike Worcester, meanwhile, has said that it took the allegation “very seriously” and expressed a desire to resolve the matter quickly with the Worcester Green Party.

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The comments came as the council’s place and economic development committee approved plans for a second pump track in Perdiswell Park, to be funded partly through £20,000 of community contributions from housing developers.

The new £150,000 track will include two separate loops — one for experienced riders and another for children under eight — and is being promoted by the council as a “destination” facility for the city.

Cllr Round said the original Battenhall facility, which opened in November, had been “massively oversubscribed” and should not have been the first to be built.

She added that the surrounding community in St Peter’s had been exposed to “no end of issues” including anti-social behaviour, litter and drugs, and that a larger track at a more central location, co-located with leisure facilities and car parking, “would have had relatively minor issues compared to what we’re facing in St Peter’s.”

Responding to Cllr Round’s allegation of bullying, Cllr Hannah Cooper said Green Party members were not pressured internally to vote a particular way: “I told them ‘brace yourself, this is going to be difficult whatever happens’ and I reminded them they have a free vote.

“Green Party councillors are not whipped — you are free to vote to represent your residents or based on your own thinking. Elena Round was certainly not bullied by the Green Party.”

Cllr Cooper also clarified that while she is no longer a member of Bike Worcester, she continues to volunteer with the group by leading a bike bus, Worcester News reports.

Cllr Alex Mace, co-leader of the Green Party group at the city council and a member of Bike Worcester, said: “I’m keen to discuss and resolve the situation with Bike Worcester because no one should feel they are being bullied.”

Kids riding BMX bikes
Kids riding BMX bikes (Image Credit: licensed by CC BY 2.0)

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In a statement, Bike Worcester said: “Bike Worcester is taking allegations of bullying and intimidation very seriously. Cllr Round referred to lobbying efforts in January 2024 by Bike Worcester members as making her feel intimidated. It’s the first time we’ve been made aware of bullying allegations but as a group we are keen to ensure any issues are resolved quickly with the Worcester Green Party.

“We have excellent working relationships across different political groups in Worcester and Worcestershire and we’re keen to maintain and build on these relationships to improve the experience of those walking, wheeling or cycling in Worcester.”

This isn’t the first time city councillors have placed themselves at odds with cyclists. In March 2024, controversial Conservative councillor Alan Amos condemned the city council’s decision not to extend a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that banned cycling in the pedestrianised city centre.

He described the move as “absolutely outrageous” and a green light for “dangerous and selfish” cyclists, accusing the council of giving in to “vocal minorities”, and added that the PSPO’s removal would signal a “free-for-all” and leave elderly and disabled residents at risk.

In July, Cllr Amos called for mandatory number plates and penalty points for cyclists, beginning with the Beryl Bikes introduced in Worcester the previous month. “All bikes should have a registration number by law so there is a level playing field for any vehicle that uses the road — lorries, cars, vans and bikes. They should all be subject to the same rules,” he said.

Bike Worcester rejected the suggestion, and chair Dan Brothwell invited councillors, including Amos, to join him on an “infrastructure safari” around the city by bike to understand the challenges cyclists face.

“I completely understand why many people would choose not to [ride on roads], and instead cycle on footways or through the city centre roads covered by TROs, especially when cycling with children or less confident adults,” he said. Brothwell added that parking on pavements by drivers was widespread and largely ignored in the public discussion.

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In October, Brothwell responded to criticism from disability charities concerned about plans to review a city centre cycling ban. The proposal to review the Traffic Regulation Order that prohibits cycling on High Street between 10am and 6pm prompted concern from Sight Concern Worcestershire, whose staff described parts of the city as “disorientating, inaccessible, and dangerous” for people with sensory impairments.

Brothwell said the group’s concerns were understandable, but argued that a protected cycling network could actually benefit all users by separating modes more clearly. “The greatest risk to all road users is caused by people driving, notably anti-social, dangerous and illegal driving,” he said. “There seems plenty to work together on to reduce road danger.”

He added that tackling Worcester’s “scourge” of illegal parking and creating a city that works for everyone, including families, children, and disabled people, remained the group’s priority.

“Cycling advocacy groups should be working collaboratively with the visually impaired community to make travelling around the city by any means as safe as possible,” he said. “At present, there are no segregated safe routes across the city centre for those choosing to cycle.”