The leadership of Cheshire East Council has denied that councillors did not receive adequate notice about proposals for the bike lane on Old Middlewich Road.

Cllr Mike Benson, a Conservative member representing the Sandbach Town ward, raised issues with a perceived lack of consultation among councillors and local businesses.

In a question to Cllr Laura Crane during yesterday's (16 December) meeting of the full borough council, Cllr Benson said: "As ward councillor, I did not receive any meaningful details of the scheme and neither did residents or businesses. It's therefore not surprising to note that there are over 200 responses on the active travel page, and most of them are critical."

Cllr Benson also referenced the online petition with over 1,000 signatures which call for the lane's removal.

He added: "Let me be clear, I do approve of government plans to give financial support to enable local councils to introduce safer cycling schemes. I'm a cyclist myself. But it's also been made clear that before doing so there must be local consultation."

Cllr Benson claims that all he received as a "map with a few squiggles on" which did not go into detail about the proposal.

The councillor also claimed the scheme was "badly designed" and "rushed through" without time for residents to have a "sense of ownership".

In response to the criticism, Cllr Crane, who is the portfolio holder for highways, said: "I do still hold a bit of an issue with your repeated comment that you had no notice of this in advance. On 4 August an email was sent to yourself as a ward councillor and it was also sent to the town council. No comment was received until a long time after the measures were put in place."

Cllr Crane, a Labour representative for Sandbach Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, added that some other active travel schemes in the borough were amended in response to feedback before being implemented.

She added that the government funding for the schemes only allowed for a short time period to implement the schemes, which meant the usual could not take place. "Hence, getting in touch with all relevant councillors and asking them to take part in this and give their feedback."

With the second phase of funding for active travel schemes, Cllr Crane said they have been given "significantly longer" to consult with the public. She also stressed the bike lane was a "temporary measure" and subject to change if deemed necessary.

"There are no plans to immediately rip it out, we will continue to give it a chance," she added.

The council leader, Cllr Sam Corcoran, then chimed in to contest Cllr Benson's claim about councillors not being consulted.

He said: "I do wish to take exception to Cllr Mike Benson saying he just received a 'map with a few squiggles on'. I received the same email and it was quite a detailed email advising people of the details of the scheme and it had a link on it for further details."

Cllr Corcoran described the claims as "reprehensible", before adding: "I do understand that some tensions are rising over this, but I don't think Cllr Benson's denial of having received notice of it on 4 August."

Later in the meeting, Cllr Stewart Gardiner, a Conservative from Knutsford, accused Cllr Corcoran of "bullying of Cllr Benson". This was after councillors had committed to prevent bullying in the borough.

• ****

While you're here, don't forget to check out our new Commnunity page where you can find the latest community news as well as competitions.