County officers have confirmed that the planned works are being done in conjunction with the Thornhill extension and the proposed cycle hire scheme.
The conversion of a footway to a cycleway is done through the Highways Act 1980 by ‘removing’ the footway element and ‘making / constructing’ the cycle track element under their relevant sections of the Act. Public consultation is not a mandatory requirement.
In this instance the consultation undertaken was in respect to the conversion of the existing footway to a unsegregated ‘shared use’ facility and County officers say that they consulted with their standard list of consultees and in addition erected site notices along the route to catch the general public. The local parish council was also consulted with as part of this exercise. No objections were received and authorisation to proceed under delegated powers was subsequently sought and granted.
The formal consultation on the next phase of the London Road redevelopment is still to take place