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CYCLING campaigners have accused Newcastle councillors of losing the city £175,000 in funding for the first of eight new major pedal-power projects.

Transport charity Sustrans had offered the cash – more than half the money needed – to create a new bike route from Walker, through Byker and Manors, to the city centre.

But after petitions signed by representatives of the Byker, Walker and Walkergate wards, and around 200 residents from the Welbeck Road area, cyclists say there is not enough time to spend the cash before a March deadline and the deal is dead in the water.

Newcastle Cycling Campaign chairman Katja Leyendecker said the councillors’ objections to the scheme were “petty”.

She said: “We sat down as people who already cycle and tried to work out what the best route would be. It’s a well-considered route that passes schools and shops, is direct and we think there are no danger spots.

“The grant body was happy with the design, and the money was there to be spent by March 31, but now because of this petty opposition what happens is that it has to go through committee.”

But Walker councillor Dave Wood, chairman of the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority, said many people in his ward felt they had not been consulted when the plans were drawn up and questioned why an unelected body like the Newcastle Cycling Forum had been given more input than representatives of the local area.

He said the plans as they stand are “crazy”, not least because Welbeck Road is one of the busiest bus routes in the city. Coun Wood said “At its widest point the road is 11 metres. The area for residents to park their cars is two metres wide at either side and the cycle lanes would be a further 1.5m. But the clearance for a double decker bus, including its mirrors, is three metres, so you wouldn’t be able to fit two buses side by side.

“We made the point that the plans shouldn’t be put out to consultation because they were clearly not right.”

Coun John Stokel-Walker said that during a period of austerity “aspirational” schemes would not be backed by the public.

He said: “The total cost of the route is around £311,000, including the £175,000 that would have come from Sustrans. Now we know that’s a different pot of money, but residents don’t see it that way, and they will support libraries before they support a new cycle route.

“That’s not to say we’re against the idea – we’ve suggested Walker Road as an alternative as it is wider and would allow people to drop down to the Quayside or connect to the Hadrian’s Way.”