Further to this bad news we have been told by Councillor Robert Brown, LibDem, that the Cycling Partnership is safe – for now – but we need to be vigilant and oppose any further attempt.
South Lanarkshire Council have for some time had a Cycling Partnership to promote and progress cycling issues within the area covered by the local authority. GoBike has been represented on this Partnership. The new council, elected on 04 May, now propose to merge it into the Sustainability Partnership!
If we are going to get anything like 10% of journeys by bike by 2020, which is still the Scottish Government’s aim, then cycling must be given more prominence, not less. This is a backward move.
The council document, dated 10 May, which is going to be discussed tomorrow, 18 May, is here: South Lan bodies and the relevant clause, 10.3 is reproduced here:
“10.3. In advance of the new Council, the list has been reviewed by the lead organisations. In terms of the South Lanarkshire Cycling Partnership, it is proposed that it be discontinued and its remit incorporated into that for the Sustainability Partnership. The Council is asked, as a matter of priority, to approve nominations to the joint committees/boards, statutory and partnership bodies detailed in Appendix 4. These are necessary to enable the respective organisations to formally re-establish themselves following the local government elections.”
If you live in South Lanarkshire please e-mail your councillors and ask them not to proceed with this regressive move. You can find the councillors for your ward here but do include Councillor Robert Brown in your list of addressees. He has been prominent in support of cycling and active travel in South Lanarkshire and spoke at our Hustings last month.