Council to take £120,000 from roads budget to pay for overspend on cycle lane blasted as ‘useless’

The new cycle route runs between Manvers Way and Wath town centre, and the council say it allows residents to access work in Manvers and Wath-upon-Dearne.

Cash to fund the project was secured from the Department for Transport’s Transforming Cities Fund by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

However, in a budget report to the authority’s cabinet, it is proposed to take £120,000 out of the highways maintenance budget to finish the project.

The overspend has been put down to the route needing ‘significant carriageway resurfacing’.

The report states: “This scheme is forecast to overspend by £120k.

“The scheme included significant carriageway resurfacing, at a value of £165k, excluding additional surfacing identified on-site and already paid for by highways.

“Therefore, it is proposed that £120k is moved from the highways maintenance budget to the budget for the Wath to Manvers Cycleway to fund the overspend.”

In March, resident Stacey Bradley told the cabinet that ‘nobody is happy’ with the cycle lane, as traffic lights installed as part of the scheme on Biscay Way are causing congestion through Wath.

"Since those traffic lights were installed, the congestion in Wath-upon-Dearne and the roundabout is ridiculous,' Ms Bradley told the meeting.

"I'm yet to see any cyclists use that."

Ms Bradley branded the money ‘useless’, and suggested it would have been better spent on regeneration projects.

However, councillor Chris Read, leader of RMBC, said the schemes were subject to public consultation, and the funding was specifically for active travel and public transport schemes.