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Sefton Councillor's statement about the decision to defer the vote on the removal of the temporary cycle lanes within Southport
THE Conservative Group Leader in Sefton, and Dukes Ward Councillor, Mike Prendergast, has issued a statement about the decision to defer the vote on the removal of the temporary cycle lanes following the decision at the recent Council meeting to be deferred.
Sefton Councillor Prendergast said:- “This statement is made in my capacity of Sefton Council Conservative Group Leader... Following a request from Sefton Council, we have, reluctantly, agreed to defer our motion on the removal of the temporary cycle lanes. As most people know our position on these cycle lanes is that they need to be removed. They are not wanted by residents or businesses, they have reduced parking and accessibility in the Town Centre and have not resulted in any significant uptake in cycling in Southport. We can all see from the huge report recently produced, with its mountains of data and extrapolation of flimsy conclusions from a very limited pool of consultees, the lengths that Sefton Council now appear to be going to justify keeping these lanes. These lanes are bad for Southport, we are about to embark on a huge £73 million investment in a new conference centre, and private investors are considering investing further millions in Southport. Do we think keeping these lanes will encourage people to visit or will it undermine the economic viability of Southport? Our motion, if passed, would have been clear, unambiguous, and presented a clear choice, either:- keep them or get rid of them. We say get rid of them! However, Southport Liberal Democrat’s have used a little known procedure, known as a:- ‘call in’ which now means the ability to hear the motion on the removal of the cycle lanes must now be deferred until the call in has been heard at the next Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The published reasons for the call in are largely based on the interpretation of data, understanding of the decision and methodology. None of the reasons given for the call in talk about the removal of the lanes. The decision by Southport Liberal Democrat’s to call in and cause a further delay to a motion on this important issue is not in the interests of residents or local businesses. I’m sure it is well intentioned, but all that further scrutiny of a bad decision will reveal is that keeping the lanes is a bad decision and we know know that already. The Lib Dem callin will achieve nothing, but dither and delay, and simply allow Labour to avoid having to face a public vote on the issue at a full Council meeting. We want this issue to be heard and debated as soon as possible and this is simply kicking the can down the road and is damaging for local businesses. When the motion returns I do sincerely hope that all Southport Councillors will support our motion to remove the lanes. ”
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Colin - local business owner
#1
Mon, 22 January 2024
2:16 pm
The quicker these go the better! However these are not the only things stopping Southport from thriving. A place that was once known for its independent shops and now these are closing and struggling. We need free parking for the first hour - free parking all day Sundays - Southport needs a vision
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