Campaigners urge leaders to ensure Warwickshire has a greener future with better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians

Campaigners are urging leaders to do much more to ensure a greener future in Warwickshire after changes enforced by Covid-19.

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) is finalising its bid this week for more government money after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his desire for better facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.

But in a letter to WCC, local environmental groups say they are disappointed that the council was only one of a handful awarded just 50 per cent of the first round of funding of the DfT's Emergency Active Travel Fund for tranche 1 - and fear that they still need to take things more seriously before the deadline for bids of tranche 2 funding on Friday (August 7).

WCC says it is confident that its bid will be successful but protesters are keen to point out that its own deputy leader, Cllr Peter Butlin, has shared controversial views about climate change on Twitter that, among other things, describe cycle lanes as a 'green insanity'.

The letter - signed by Kenilworth cyclist campaigner Adam Tranter, Cycleways, Clean Air Leamington, Extinction Rebellion Warwick District and Cycling UK - states that while they are very grateful for work done by WCC to keep people safe during the pandemic, the quality of the measures brought in to help cyclists and pedestrians were not good enough.

They added: "The Prime Minister and many other senior government figures have, just last week, set out their vision for cycling and walking in this country. This is not a fad or something that is going to go away.

"At the last round of funding, local authorities were allocated more funding because of high quality bids; money that was allocated by the government for the benefit of residents and businesses in Warwickshire has been handed over to other areas of the country who really want it.

"There is over £1 million on the table for Warwickshire for active travel and we fear that the lack of ambition of Warwickshire County Council means that its potential won’t be realised.

"Change is hard and not everybody will be with you, but a noisy minority in Warwickshire are preventing positive change from happening. But the vast majority want change."

"I am concerned that a narrative against active travel is building within WCC with deputy leader, Cllr Peter Butlin, using his Twitter account to share messages that cycle lanes are 'green insanity' along with other posts which, contrary to overwhelming scientific evidence, doubt the existence of climate change."

The letter goes on to say that data from Dublin shows that pedestrianisation trials around Grafton Street have increased traders' income - and in a public survey 96% say it has improved streets.

They added: "While pedestrianisation alone isn’t a silver bullet, it shows that well delivered schemes, along with data-backed community engagement and a genuine strategy, can have long lasting positive impact.

"We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to make Warwickshire healthier and safer. I implore Warwickshire County Council’s leadership to follow the advice of central Government, to be bold and to do the right thing for future generations.

"This time last year, Warwickshire County Council rightly declared a climate emergency. In this time of a climate crisis, residents look for leaders who can offer our children a glimmer of hope and locally I see very few that really understand our predicament.

"If our local politicians can’t even generate the political will for such small scale changes, I really struggle to understand how they will deal with the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced."

In response, Cllr Jeff Clarke, portfolio holder for transport and planning, said: "The county council is finalising a bid to tranche 2 of the Emergency Active Travel Fund (EATF) which will be submitted later this week.

"The county council is committed to developing a sustainable and integrated transport system in which an expanded network of high-quality cycling infrastructure will play a key role in enabling and encouraging modal shift away from private cars for the benefit of the economy, environment and our residents' health and well-being.

"As lead transport authority we have an enviable record in securing investment in sustainable transport.

“Warwickshire County Council is committed to ensuring that our residents are supported through excellent transport infastructure, whatever that means of transport may be, and our bid to EATF Tranche 2 will build on a bid for £1.9 million for cycling schemes submitted to the Getting Building Fund at the end of last week and the county council's own investment of £6.5 million in three major cycling schemes including Kenilworth to Leamington Spa which we announced at the end of last year."