Campaigns

Including Cycling UK's Space For Cycling campaign

On this page you'll find issues that affect us as cyclists' right across the county.

Melanie Carroll is our Campaigns Officer and will be our 'Point Of Contact'.

CAMPAIGNS OFFICER'S REPORT

You can download and read Melanie's latest 'Campaigns Officer's Report' (May 2022) HERE

We would ask that any and all our members to also write to the council or other agencies when they become aware of issues that may effect themselves or other cyclists, as well as letting us know. It is no longer enough for just the voice of Cycling UK Lincolnshire to speak out, to ensure that we are heard and our needs appreciated it also needs many individual letters because each letter counts. Gone are the days when a membership organisation letter counted for the many. Now they need many letters from individuals to really make them take notice.

The work continues on and again I'd ask all Members to be active campaigners for cycle provision and safety and keep an eye on any proposed changes in their areas. Let us know too anything that we should be aware of, be it an accident blackspot, a proposed change to roads or right of ways, a new building works or estate or any other issue that needs the needs of the bicycle rider being kept front and centre.

A QUICK GUIDE TO BASIC CAMPAIGNING THAT EVERYONE CAN DO

Melanie's written 'A quick guide to basic campaigning that everyone can do' and you can download and read the article HERE

DISTRICT COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION

For contact information within East Lindsey, North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire,

you can download and read the article HERE

CAMPAIGNS ARCHIVE 2023

UPDATE 17th January 2023.

LINCOLNSHIRE WOLDS CYCLE PARK

The developers of a new cycle park in Lincolnshire Wolds state that it will be 'win-win' for everyone once completed

Work on the park is set to begin in Spring 2023, depending upon acquiring funding and good weather!

What part of the cycle park will look like (Image: Lincs Design Consultancy)

Kevin Smith, a mountain bike coach says it was a "real moment" when he found out that his plans for a cycle park in the Lincolnshire Wolds had been approved. The cycle park was approved on Thursday, December 1 last year following a planning committee with East Lindsey District Council - work is hoped to begin in Spring 2023.

Kevin Smith has been running Focus Rides for seven years and will operate the cycle park once its built near South Willingham. A bike route, cafe and classroom are part of the plans for the park and it will be the first purpose-built facility in Lincolnshire.

Mr Smith said: "We are currently in the very early stages, looking at the funding and the building contractors. We are hoping to start building in the Spring, subject to the weather and contractors' availability.

"Once it got approved it was a real moment, I was gobsmacked and it took a bit of time to sink in. I spent five to six years of my life getting to this stage and it's taken a lot of effort."

He added: "The aim of the park is to be family orientated. Tourism is going to boom and it will have mental health benefits. We are opening a bit of the Wolds that is not accessible to anyone so people can enjoy a new part of it."

Christopher Heneage is the landowner of the area, who also owns The Heneage Arms pub in Hainton and is working alongside Mr Smith on the cycle park. He said that the park will "tick all the boxes" for the area after Mr Smith had approached him with the idea. Mr Heneage said: "Hopefully it will bring a great deal here as there isn't a lot to do in the Wolds for families. We are decades behind other areas of Britain. "It ticks all the boxes and it is a win-win." He also said that he hopes the cycle park will create jobs, more footfall in the area and be good for mental and physical health.

Mr Smith said he wants to give everyone the "peace of mind" that the developers are doing "all they can" to make the cycle park benefit the local economy and residents. He said that local businesses including pubs, restaurants and hotels will be among those that benefit.

The developers are now looking for funding options before getting the work started and are open to investors and sponsors. The proposals for the park, situated on the Hainton Estate, were submitted by the Louth-based Lincs Design Consultancy (LDC) which specialises in planning, design and landscape services.

Daniel Sharp, director at LDC, said: "The project proposals have been developed following extensive public and statutory consultation and have been led by a thorough team of specialist consultants. The proposal will provide a significant ecological and biodiversity net gain as proven by the specialist consultants’ reports.

Gran

UPDATE 18th February 2023.

GRANTHAM ACTIVE TRAVEL SCHEME

LCC has announced that the 'Active Travel Scheme' for Grantham will be on hold until the bypass has been built.

The High Street would have become a one-way road under the original plans but the bid to encourage cycling and walking in Grantham has divided residents and has been put on hold.

Lincolnshire County Council said the Active Travel Scheme would not be considered again until Grantham's bypass was completed in the next year.

The plan had included outline proposals to make the High Street a one-way road, with only buses and cycles able to travel southbound.

A public consultation found the town divided fairly evenly about the scheme.

The county council's executive member for highways Richard Davies said it was "fair to say it wasn't universally popular".

The consultation of 2,750 residents, businesses and organisations found only 48% in favour of the scheme and 44% against.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Davies told fellow councillors he did not think there was enough support to "push forward with it at the moment".

He said the Grantham bypass was going to open in the "next year or so".

"It makes sense to put things on hold until we've moved the A52 out of Grantham, because the town centre will feel very different without that road going through the middle."

He said that "absolutely" cycling and walking were "key" to the future of the town.

"One of the barriers to walking into a market town is those road barriers in the middle, which make it quite difficult to go that final third of the way into the town centre."

UPDATE 6th March 2023.

LINCOLN CYCLE HIRE SCHEME

Councillors are considering introducing e-bikes and flexible pick up and drop off points.

The county council's executive member for highways Richard Davies said technology had moved on since the hire scheme was first introduced in 2013.

"We are looking at having geo-fencing rather than base stations and rolling out more electric bikes," he said.

Mr Davies said they hoped to launch the new scheme in 2024.

In an interview with BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Mr Davies said: "Previously we had about 120 bikes - our ambition is absolutely to do more.

"They've been well used with thousands of journeys every year but... current technology is moving on," he said.

Mr Davies said the scheme had been well used, but the council's ambition was to do more

The authority was also looking to expand the scheme to surrounding villages and give people more flexibility over where they can pick up and drop off bikes - using geo-fencing technology, he added.

The council's contract with the operator of the original scheme ended last year, with a meeting of the authority's Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee being told the equipment was no longer fit for purpose or of any value, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The bikes have since been removed.

Mr Davies said the authority hoped to have the new scheme in place by the summer of 2024.

"We would have liked to have something in place a bit sooner, but the way the industry is moving it wouldn't make sense to rush into something," he said.

"We need to make sure the booking experience works really well -the operation of the bikes is really good, and that just does take little bit of time, unfortunately."

UPDATE 8th March 2023.

NORTH HYKEHAM RELIEF ROAD

Your chance to speak to the project team!

About the project (Station Road realignment)

This project will link the Lincoln Eastern Bypass with the existing Western bypass to create a ring road. It will also form part of the Lincolnshire Coastal Highway.

View the plan HERE

March 2023 public information event dates

Members of the public are welcome to attend one of the events below to speak to the project team and find out how the design and planning of the new relief road is progressing!

Wednesday 15 March at Waddington Community Hub (High St, LN5 9RF)
- 3pm – 8pm
Thursday 16 March at Bentley Hotel (Newark Rd, LN6 9NH)
- 3pm – 8pm
Friday 17 March at Bracebridge Heath Pavilion (Bath Rd, LN4 2TU)
- 1pm – 6pm

Aims and benefits

The project aims and benefits are to:

assist the sustainable economic growth of Lincoln and Lincolnshire
reduce congestion in and around North Hykeham, Lincoln and the surrounding villages
improve the quality of life in the Lincoln area
maximise accessibility to central Lincoln
improve road safety in central Lincoln and the other nearby settlements

FULL DETAILS HERE

UPDATE 12th March 2023.

ACTIVE TRAVEL ENLGAND RATINGS 2023:

FULL DETAILS HERE

Active Travel England has just published the local authority ratings for 2022.

The highest rating is rating 4, which denotes a council with significant local leadership, ambition and capability to deliver – a council without these things would be awarded a zero.

Active Travel England state "a zero rating is something no one wants, least of all Active Travel England, but to be effective, we must all work from an accurate starting point. We want every authority to succeed and be able to access funding, so we will provide a support package that includes dedicated training, guidance and access to design support. The ratings will be reviewed annually. If in the interim a local authority demonstrates its capability has improved significantly, there will be scope to change ratings sooner. We will help local authorities give people a real choice to travel actively if they wish".

"We have seen some projects delivered without appropriate community engagement and instances in which trial measures have been abandoned too early to properly assess their effect. Poorly considered and badly delivered schemes waste taxpayers’ money and also make it harder to introduce new schemes in the future".

"Ratings are used to guide the initial allocation of Active Travel and Capability Funding. Higher rated authorities are eligible to access more funding, however effectiveness, quality and deliverability will be the primary factors in deciding final allocations. Local authorities rated zero will not be invited to apply for the Active Travel Fund but may be eligible for capability funding if they wish to improve".

Rating 1

Some local leadership with basic plans and isolated interventions that do not yet obviously form a plan for a network.

Rating 2

Strong local leadership, with clear plans that form the basis of an emerging network with a few elements already in place.

Rating 3

Very strong local leadership, comprehensive plans, and a significant network in place with a growing number of people choosing to walk, wheel and cycle.

Rating 4

Established culture of active travel with successive increases in walking, wheeling and cycling, underpinned by a dense integrated network and highly supportive policies to give more people the choice to walk or cycle.

Cycling UK Lincolnshire