It’s been quite the week for infrastructure and utility cycling news, and today Cycling UK has announced that West Sussex County Council has admitted it acted illegally when it decided to remove a popular cycle lane in the seaside town of Shoreham in November 2020.
As a result of this admission, the Council will have to pay £25,000 in legal costs to Cycling UK, who brought the legal challenge against West Sussex County Council through its Cyclists’ Defence Fund.
“In Shoreham, Cycling UK has drawn a line in the sand, showing there are repercussions for councils which ignore government guidance. Hopefully West Sussex County Council’s acceptance they acted illegally will put a stop to short sighted decisions like this happening across other parts of the UK.
“This is a victory for people who want their children to travel to school in safety, for people who don’t have to breathe polluted air, and for everyone who would like healthier, safer streets where we live and work.”
Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns
The cycle lane was installed at the end of September 2020 through government funding to help more people walk and cycle during the pandemic, and was removed weeks later contrary to government guidance.
Timeline of the Shoreham Cycle Lane:
- 09 May 2020: The Government announced the Emergency Active Travel Fund (EATF) and the legislative measures to support making changes to the road network.
- 27 May: The Department for Transport (“DfT”) wrote to local authorities giving further details about the EATF, making it clear that the EATF funding was aimed at, and awarded for, schemes which could bring about long-term change and encourage active travel, such as cycling, rather than just focusing on measures responding to Covid-19.
- 05 June: West Sussex County Council (WSCC) applied for the first tranche of funding available under the EATF.
- 26 June: WSCC was awarded £781,000 from Tranche 1 of the EATF to allow implementation of seven new and improved pop-up cycle lane schemes, including the cycle lane on Upper Shoreham Road.
- 21 July: WSCC published its decision to allocate the funds received from the grant to the relevant budgets and to implement the seven schemes.
- 07 September: Work implementing the cycle lane at Upper Shoreham Road commenced.
- 25 September: WSCC announced that the work on the cycle lane was completed, although additional works were still being undertaken throughout October.
- 03 November: Councillor Roger Elkins took the decision to remove all the emergency active travel schemes, including the Upper Shoreham Road cycle lane.
- 18 November: WSCCs Environment and Scrutiny Committee called in the decision concerning the removal of the Upper Shoreham Road cycle lane, noting that the scheme had exceeded expectations and that it was questionable why a successful scheme should be removed.
- 25 November: Councillor Elkins confirmed the decision to remove the cycle lane.
- 11 January 2021: Work commenced to remove the cycle lane, which was undertaken over a period of several days.
- 25 February: Cycling UK applied for judicial review
- 26 May: At a hearing in the High Court, Mr Justice Lane refused Cycling UK’s applications for permission to pursue the judicial review.
- 02 June: Cycling UK appealed Mr Justice Lane’s decision, which was considered in the Court of Appeal.
- 01 September: Cycling UK discovered its appeal had been allowed and High Court appearance scheduled for 25 – 26 January 2022.
- 27 January 2021: Cycling UK announces out of court settlement with West Sussex County Council admitting it acted illegally and will pay £25k towards the charity’s legal expenses
30,000 Shoreham cycle lane trips
During the weeks the lane was in existence, Cycling UK says it was used for 30,000 cycle trips, serving five schools along its length. It also featured in a government publicity video highlighting the community benefits of the new cycle lanes introduced during lockdown in 2020.
A previous Cycling UK press release on the matter said:
“Despite the popularity of the route for Shoreham’s families and residents, and no evidence to support unsubstantiated claims the lane had caused congestion or traffic delays, an arbitrary decision was made to remove the lane by Councillor Roger Elkins, West Sussex CC’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure. According to an FOI investigation, Cllr Elkins never visited the bike route. Justification for his decision appears to have been based on a small number of complaints about increased congestion. However these complaints are not borne out by the data gathered by the council.”
Active Travel England
We ran a story earlier this week on the launch of the new Active Travel England body, whose remit will include ensuring that active travel funds such as these are used properly, and schemes implemented correctly. Perhaps this case will also serve to remind councils and elected representatives to act on the basis of facts, data, and due process – especially when it’s easy to see loud and angry voices in the comments section of many articles related to cycling infrastructure.
“Challenging councils’ which act illegally by ignoring government guidance shouldn’t be the work of charities like Cycling UK. We hope Active Travel England will make sure councils not only promote cycling, but ensure they act lawfully and don’t waste public funds.”
Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns
Cyclists’ Defence Fund
Cycling UK’s legal challenge was funded through its Cyclists’ Defence Fund, which was set up to help fight landmark legal battles which the charity believes will benefit everyone who cycles in the UK.
“Cycling UK is truly grateful for all the support we’ve received from the public who have helped to fund our legal battle in Shoreham,” said Mr Dollimore. “We hope they can continue to support us and our ongoing work to make the UK a better place for everyone.”
Rowan Smith, lead solicitor on this case from Leigh Day, said:
“This is a massive legal, as well as campaigning, victory that will benefit cyclists in West Sussex and across the country. Cycling UK has achieved a big win in upholding statutory guidance to embed more climate-friendly travel, which it hopes will contribute to a greener post-pandemic recovery. Such great news comes in the wake of the Government setting up Active Travel England, a new body with powers to rank local authorities on the quality of cycling provision in their areas.”
Estelle Dehon, barrister at Cornerstone Barristers (who, with Dr Christina Lienen, acted for Cycling UK), said:
“At its heart, this case is about the value of active travel, both in terms of promoting human health by reducing air pollution and in addressing the climate crisis. The Statutory Guidance which the Council should have followed made this clear.
“Building on our client’s legal success, it is now time for a consistent approach to be taken across the UK, similar to that in Wales, where there is a strong obligation on all local planning authorities to promote active travel. Given how many deaths are caused by air pollution, and the need for the most urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this should be a top priority.”
Since removal of the cycle lane, West Sussex County Council has made a public commitment to increase space for cycling on the A270 Upper Shoreham Road, and Cycling UK is urging the council to move on to delivery. Maybe checking it out will be first item on the list for Active Travel England? And will the new body, this case, the new Highway Code and fuel prices combine to create the shift in focus we need to push cars down the pecking order?
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