Proposed shared cycling and walking route through Hastings' Alexandra Park blocked on knife-edge vote

On Thursday, Hastings Borough Council held a long-awaited vote on whether to designate a shared cycle route through the park, as part of a scheme set to be brought forward by East Sussex County Council.

The council’s cabinet had given in-principle approval to the plans back in 2016, but, faced with strong public feeling during a public consultation on bylaw changes, Labour council leader Paul Barnett had committed to bring the matter back for a full council vote.

Feelings have been strong on both sides of the debate. Supporters argued the route would be necessary to make cycling a viable alternative to cars, while opponents argued it would pose a safety risk to users of the park.

Views were also split among councillors. Supporters included Cllr Ali Roark, Labour cabinet member for environment. She said: “As councillors I believe that we have a duty to look at the big picture here and consider what is in the best interest of the town, not just today but going forward into the future.

“We are living in a time when we desperately need to be reducing our carbon emissions and promoting active travel.

“We have here a project that has gone through all due diligence and it started long before I was elected as a councillor. It has gone through all due diligence, it has been signed off by the transport authority and is ready to go.

“Alternative routes have been rejected by East Sussex County Council and the funding that has been allocated to this cannot be used on another project if we reject this proposal tonight and I fear we would not get a joined-up cycle network in the town in the near future.”

A different view was taken by Conservative councillor Rob Cooke, who said: “My main concern isn’t actually the upper part of the park, it’s the lower part of the park because it’s busy. It’s full of dogs, it’s full of people [and] it’s actually not particularly safe for cyclists to be cycling through there either.

“It is a shame we are going to lose this funding, it’s a shame we are going to lose this opportunity, but I don’t think we should take something just because we’re going to lose the funding for it.

“I think we need to go again and we need to look again at a more suitable route and a route that works for the people who use the park on foot and works for cyclists who want to get across the town.”

The final vote was not purely on party political lines, however. Green councillors all supported the proposals, while most Conservatives (with the exception of group leader Andy Patmore) voted against them.

The Labour group was more deeply split, with five of its 15 councillors voting against designating the route.

Cllr James Bacon, who as a mayor would have had a deciding vote in the event of a tie, opted not to take part in the first round of voting.

The final result came in at 15 in favour and 16 against. The decision means the cycle route will not be designated as a shared cycle route by Hastings Borough Council.