The development of cycling infrastructure is vital for rural areas. However, after a decade of Tory underinvestment we’re not where we want, or need, to be. Additional funding for councils is necessary to unlock new projects, but it is not sufficient on its own. Other barriers to delivery dog the roll out of new infrastructure, including landownership battles and the need for a culture shift by planning officers. In the Henley and Thame constituency, work by the Liberal Democrat led County Council administration is taking on these challenges but it cannot do it alone and needs the backing of government. That’s where MPs come in.
When proper infrastructure exists, cycling is easy. Living in the Netherlands as a student, I was never concerned for my safety, nor was cycling ever unpleasant (save for the biting winds coming from the North Sea). Villages and towns are interconnected by cycle routes, which makes taking a bike the obvious choice. Back in the UK, my constituency Henley and Thame is made up of quintessentially English rural villages and towns; however, with bus routes also cut back without a car travelling between places is near impossible. Sadly, mortality rates on rural roads are currently 2.7 times higher per mile cycled than on urban roads. If the government continues to ignore the need for rural cycling infrastructure, sadly more of my constituents will die on our roads.
There is obvious need for change, yet there are several challenges to developing rural cycling infrastructure. The first challenge is lack of consideration of rural areas in government schemes for active travel. Previous recommendations for cycling infrastructure focus primarily on urban city landscapes, which need incredibly different arrangements. Rural areas often require creative solutions, there is no one size fits all.
In May 2023, Rishi Sunak slashed the active travel budget from the already paltry £200 million to a derisory £50 million. An insult to the councils making time consuming bids to the pot. The Labour government have increased the budget back up to £150 million but this still falls short of levels just 2 years ago and fails to deliver on a pledge to increase funding to ‘unprecedented levels’.
The lack of funding means that development has stagnated. In Oxfordshire, the County Council has developed a Strategic Active Travel Network showing on a map prioritised ‘desire line’ cycle routes to connect towns, villages and neighbouring counties. Yet for now, they remain lines on a map unfunded.
A second challenge is land ownership. Compulsory purchase powers are often wielded to make progress on road projects but are not used to deliver cycle infrastructure. All too often suitable off road cycle routes cannot be progressed simply because land in the hands of the same family since William the Conqueror cannot be put to good use. Other times, ambition is thwarted by technocrat details. In Watlington, the conversion of a country lane to a car free active travel route between the town and the nearby village of Pyrton has been pushed back due an inability to identify the owners of the land on which the road lies.
Thirdly, inertia and a lack of ambition within councils means all too often active travel is a bolt on addition, rather than core to a project. I’m fully aware from my own experience in local government of the good work many councillors of all parties do to challenge orthodoxy and push for progress. Fighting the system can feel like a losing battle.
In my own constituency within these confines, I am prioritising my efforts to deliver on the Thame to Haddenham Greenway, a cycle route proposal to connect the market town of Thame to the nearby village of Haddenham in Berkshire, just two miles away. Currently cycling between the two requires a high degree of confidence to mix in alongside the heavy traffic of the A418. It would seem to be an obvious case for development and would be a brilliant proof on concept; however, the cycleway has been mooted for the past 20 years.
If the government continues to let these challenges limit development, we will lose out on the many benefits of cycling infrastructure in rural areas. Economically, every pound spent on cycling and walking schemes has been shown to deliver £5.62 worth of wider benefits. Active travel contributes more than £36 billion to the UK economy every year. Socially, life in rural areas can be isolating. With cycling infrastructure, towns and villages can become linked, giving rise to tourism, encouraging the flourishing of local businesses and attracting institutions and services to set up or return to areas. Environmentally, no carbon methods of travel are vital in tackling the climate emergency. Reduced motor traffic will further limit carbon dioxide emissions and reduce nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, both gases linked to respiratory failure, stroke, heart disease, dementia and premature death. Other health benefits include the contribution towards suggested weekly exercise targets.
Therefore, I call the government to action. Firstly, to make conscious policy decision to support cycling infrastructure and include equal consideration of rural areas in active travel planning. Secondly, to invest at unprecedented levels in the active travel budget, as previously committed. These actions will put cycle infrastructure on an equal footing and fund proposals that are brilliant and ready to go. This in turn deliverers economic, social, environmental and health benefits to rural communities and contributes to national development.
Over the next five years we have a golden opportunity to realise the transformation needed. I am committed to the goal of improving rural cycling infrastructure and I hope others will join me on this journey.
We have a golden opportunity to improve rural cycling infrastructure – we must not squander it
