Confused councillors in Ayr are up in arms after cycle lanes they believed had been removed from a town improvement scheme popped up this week in the latest design report.

In January, it was reported that the bike lanes proposed as part of the Accessible Ayr scheme had been ‘scrapped’ after widespread opposition from residents and local politicians prompted the council’s deputy leader to call for a revised design without the cycling infrastructure.

The scheme, which forms part of an attempt to improve walking, cycling, and public transport links in the Scottish town, had caused uproar a few months previous due to the proposed removal of six car parking spaces, which local Labour MP Elaine Stewart claimed would cause “disruption” to the local economy.

However, members of South Ayrshire Council were told this week that no motion had been formally made to ditch the cycle lane plans and that statements made in January opposed to the infrastructure were merely “political” in nature.

Councillors were also informed that Transport Scotland’s funding of the initiative may be withdrawn if the cycle lanes are removed, due to the investment being granted on the basis that the programme promotes active travel.

> Plans to build cycle lane in town “hostile to anyone outside of a car” have been scrapped

The £19.9m Accessible Ayr scheme, first given the go-ahead in 2024, aims to improve road safety and public realms in the town by introducing new cycling and walking measures, changes to traffic movement and parking, and improved links with public transport.

A series of public realm improvements have been proposed as part of the scheme, including refreshed and level pavements, protected cycle lanes in key locations, new street furniture, reduced street clutter, improved pedestrian crossings, improved drainage, and better lighting.

This “significant” investment in the town, South Ayrshire Council says, would help make it “a vibrant and more attractive place for people to visit and enjoy and easier to access by people walking, wheeling, and cycling”.

The plans include a bi-directional cycle lane on the east side of Alloway Street, which would see parking spaces and loading bays moved to the other side of the road, as well as cycling infrastructure on Sandgate, where a traffic lane would be removed to become one-way for motorists.

Ayr town centre plans
Ayr town centre plans (Image Credit: Accessible Ayr)

This part of the scheme was met with criticism by local traders during last year’s public consultation, with one takeaway owner claiming that the “politically correct” infrastructure would have a “detrimental effect on local businesses” and that Ayr does “not have the climate to prioritise cycle lanes over cars”.

Speaking at the council’s cabinet meeting in January, the local authority’s deputy leader Alec Clark said: “Due to further consultation and feedback, the report on Accessible Ayr has been deferred until a later date to allow for a redesign, which will not incorporate any cycle lanes in Ayr town centre.

“Cabinet will be updated on the new design as we go along, and to be clear, there will be no cycle lanes in Alloway Street, Sandgate, or Fullarton Street.”

However, the deferred report was finally considered by councillors on Tuesday and – despite Clark’s insistence – still included the original cycle lanes, baffling some of the cabinet’s members, Ayr Local reports.

> “Politically correct” cycle lane plans would put “economic vitality” of town at “serious risk”, warns Labour MP – due to loss of six car parking spaces

“This document was deferred at a previous cabinet,” Clark told this week’s meeting. “Cabinet raised concerns about the cycle route within Alloway Street and the Sandgate. That is because concerns were raised by businesses and residents and also because you are moving Sandgate from two lanes to one lane.

“That feedback was provided, but it was not included in the report that would have gone to the last Cabinet. That was therefore deferred to allow feedback to be taken into consideration and the report was updated.

“But I am afraid the report has not been updated in that sense. We are still sitting with cycle lanes in Alloway Street and Sandgate, and we still have those same concerns from businesses and residents.”

Jane Corrie, the head of roads at the Ayrshire Roads Alliance, said the last round of consultation had received “something in the order of 28 objections” to the changes on Alloway Street and “20 objections to Sandgate”, while further anti-cycle lane pronouncements had been made on social media.

“What we want to do now is go back out and gather properly the feedback that was expressed through social media so that we can be properly informed, so that we can liaise with businesses and residents to see if there is a way that these proposals can be amended to alleviate their concerns,” she said.

“It is important that we do that through proper consultation rather than just through the social media channels that we were receiving the feedback through.”

> Calls to rip out “disastrous” cycle lane always blocked by cars rejected – but council proposes extra parking spaces in concession to angry traders

Corrie also pointed out that South Ayrshire Council’s initial funding bid was predicated upon the scheme featuring active travel elements.

“It is also important to just note that the Transport Scotland funding is based on certain criteria and it is active travel funding,” she continued.

“If we just remove completely the cycle lanes from these streets, then there is a chance that they will not support that funding bid.”

However, independent councillor Chris Cullen argued that Clark’s comments during the January meeting of the cabinet had indicated that any plans for cycling infrastructure as part of the scheme would be scrapped completely.

“I can go back to the 20th of January and pretty much quote Councillor Clark’s statement when we deferred this paper that it was to allow a redesign of the streets in Ayr and that in no circumstances would there be any cycle lanes in Alloway Street, Sandgate, and he also included Fullarton Street,” he said.

“That was agreed by everyone when we took the vote. Yet this paper comes back with no material changes to this and a proposal to go out for another consultation.

“I personally met with shop owners and residents in both Sandgate and Alloway Street, where they conveyed to me jointly that they weren’t happy with this and they were representative of the people that were there.”

Alloway Street, Ayr
Alloway Street, Ayr (Image Credit: Google Maps)

Another independent councillor, Bob Shields, added: “We sat here in January and were told no cycle lanes in Alloway Street or in the Sandgate. I reported this good news to all my community councillors. They were all beaming and smiling and saying great news.

“Then I sat down today in the same seat in the same room and found out they are back on the agenda.

“Sandgate and Alloway Street are both in my ward and I meet businessmen, members of the public, sit at the community councils, and the opposition to these cycle lanes is very, very strong and my opposition to them is equally strong.”

He then asked: “Will it boil down to either accept these cycle lanes to get the £20 million of town centre improvement that comes with it, or if we reject the cycle lanes, we’ll lose the £20 million investment? I think that has to be a core question in any consultation.”

Corrie responded by saying that Ayrshire Road Alliance officials had spoken to Transport Scotland about the potential impact of scrapping the cycle lane plans.

“The feedback was that they would consider it, but they were non-committal,” she said. “They said they couldn’t be confident that it would achieve the funding without that active travel element being incorporated.”

The council’s chief executive Steve Penman also said officers will approach Transport Scotland once again about the “limitation” of the funding provided and the implications of any changes, before describing Clark’s announcement in January as a “political statement”.

“A political statement was made, but that was not part of a motion and it was not decided. What was decided upon was that the paper would be deferred,” he said.

However, Shields hit back on that particular recollection, telling the meeting: “I appreciate Mr Penman’s point that it wasn’t a Cabinet decision when it was said on the floor here, no cycle lanes, but just from memory, the Cabinet’s decision was to come back with proposals that do not include cycle lanes.

“That was my memory of the Cabinet decision, and here we are resetting a proposal that still includes the cycle lanes.”

“The decision was to defer the report to a future meeting of the Cabinet. That was the only decision that was made,” Penman responded.

The cabinet agreed to a continued public and stakeholder consultation, which would help inform the development of the scheme’s design.