Cyclists gear up for change in face of cuts

BEXHILL bike riders are looking to fill gaps left by the abolition of Cycling England, the body created five years ago to boost the use of bicycles and to administer cycling proficiency tests.

With an annual budget of £60 million over the past three years, Cycling England has fallen victim to government spending cuts.

It had been due to offer cycling proficiency training to half-a-million 10-year-olds annually from 2012 in a bid to reverse a drop in the number of youngsters cycling to school.

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It is feared its loss could also mean hundreds of miles of new cycle routes may now never be finished, bringing criticism that the coalition under David Cameron and Nick Clegg is betraying earlier “green” pledges.

Ian Hollidge, of the Bexhill Wheelers, said: “The work Cycling England put in place will now be taken over by groups like ours, voluntary bodies like Sustrans, the government and proactive local authorities.

“We will be part of the ‘Big Society’ and have to fill some of the gaps in promoting the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle, including walking and cycling.”

Mr Hollidge, of College Road, has supported Sustrans since its launch 15 years ago and recently became a Sustrans ranger for national cycle route two between St Leonards-on-Sea and Normans Bay via Bexhill.

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Meanwhile, he is keen to see an abolition of his own - that of a local byelaw in Bexhill stating: “No person shall without reasonable excuse ride a cycle on the promenade.”

He said: “Our point is that it is large enough to accommodate more than pedestrians, and we’d like to see the space shared by walkers and cyclists as happens at other locations in Britain and the rest of the world.

“Cycling should in fact be encouraged, not discouraged.”