Councillors and residents in Bedfordshire have criticised the lack of safe cycling and walking routes connecting new housing developments to the local town centre, saying key infrastructure has been delayed for years despite being promised during the planning stage.
At a recent Central Bedfordshire Council sustainable communities overview and scrutiny committee meeting, councillors called for a fundamental change in how active travel routes are planned and delivered alongside housing.
Liberal Democrat councillor Emma Holland-Lindsay said that several cycling and walking links in Leighton Buzzard remain unfinished, forcing residents onto unsafe roads like Stanbridge Road.
She also highlighted delays in completing a connection between new estates and Meadow Way, calling for walking and cycling to be considered from the outset of development plans, reports Luton Today.
Liberal Democrat councillor from Leighton Linslade North David Bligh added that residents in his ward are still waiting for a footpath between Seddon Gardens and Nelson Road — a short missing section that leaves people with a two-mile detour.
He also raised concerns about road safety near Vandyke School and the lack of traffic enforcement on Heath Road, which he said is being used as a car park during peak hours.
> Cycle lanes boosting house prices by up to eight per cent, new study finds
Meanwhile, Independent Houghton Regis Councillor Pat Hamill said new developments had failed to deliver basic infrastructure, saying: “The old part of the town isn’t prepared for cycleways or even walking. We’ve heard many times about Bedford Road needing a footpath.”
Speaking during the public session, Chris Stevenson from sustainable transport group Leighton Buzz Cycles said: “The main roads from some of the new housing estates are without pavements in places, a problem we predicted before they were built.
“Of the recommendations included in the Leighton-Linslade local cycling and walking infrastructure plan, to this day, none have been implemented despite money being available. One link has been partially made so far.”
Councillor John Baker said campaigners like Buzz Cycles had helped highlight “the mistakes the council has made over a long period of time in not proactively prioritising cycle paths through planning applications or strategic developments.”
He added: “The current Local Plan process is a platform considering the way we can change policies and bring cycling up to more of a priority. I want to see more cycling.”
The committee has now called for a report to examine how infrastructure can be better integrated into development and how its delivery can be sped up.
Bedford has previously made headlines after a cycling ban enforced through Public Space Protection Orders to crack down on “anti-social behaviour” in 2016 drew criticism for penalising people riding in the town centre.
As a consequence, thousands of Fixed Penalty Notices were issued to people riding their bikes in Bedford town centre, perhaps most famously when, in 2019, ultra-distance cyclist Josh Quigley was slapped with a £75 fine for cycling through the town just a week into his second — and ultimately successful — round-the-world ride.
During the same year, BBC and Channel 5 presenter Jeremy Vine offered to pay the fine of a woman caught breaching the PSPO, because the broadcaster didn’t “want her to be put off cycling for a second”.
Meanwhile, a recent study in Greater Manchester found that homes located near cycle lanes sold for up to eight per cent more than those further away.
The researchers concluded that proximity to cycling infrastructure brings measurable economic benefits and recommended that new routes be planned from the earliest stages of development. Despite this, the study noted that bike networks remain underfunded.
Similar frustrations have also surfaced in the past in Swansea, where a £1.4 million segregated cycle route planned for a key city corridor was scrapped after backlash from “hostile” NIMBY residents.
The scheme, which would have connected Sketty to Walter Road, had already been paused before the decision was made to reallocate the funding to other active travel projects. Campaigners criticised the move, describing existing cycling conditions along the busy route as dangerous and dominated by parked cars.
3 thoughts on ““I want to see more cycling”: Councillors demand cycle lanes to connect new housing developments to town centre after multiple delays and “failed promises””
I’m actually the Secretary of
I’m actually the Secretary of Buzz Cycles, the first time I’ve seen our organisation referenced in a news outlet that I actually read! I let out a “woohoo”, I don’t think my cat on the desk was best pleased 😂
Honestly I didn’t actually do much with this myself, so thanks go to Chris of course to giving and writing the speech, and fellow committee members Peter and Paul for going with him to provide support.
Just a note for Adwitiya – bizarrely Bedford isn’t actually part of CBC’s jurisdiction. So far we haven’t had any of those PSPOs in our town centres, thank goodness. I’m well aware of Bedford’s situation though, and did attend one of their Critical Mass rides a few years back.
Also would be great if you could include a link to our website: https://buzzcycles.org.uk/
Bit of a local connection for
Bit of a local connection for me. My late mother did her land army service at a farm near Bedford.
This is how it used to be in
This is how it used to be in Bedford. If we’re going to tackle air pollution and traffic gridlock then this is how it needs to be again, across the entire UK.