Britain’s ‘most expensive cycle lane’ costs taxpayers £4,000 per metre

Locals are up in arms over a new cycle lane that is less than a mile long and costs over £5,000,000 to build.

Work has been underway for a year to install a new, segregated cycle lane in Willenhall, Walsall.

However, the 0.8-mile lane, which runs along New Road and Bilston Street, has been labelled a ‘monumental waste of public money’ after the full cost of the project was revealed.

Business owners have claimed the construction is causing disruption and even putting livelihoods at risk.

The price tag for the lane is exactly £5,037,792 – equivalent of £4,198 per metre – making it the UK’s most expensive cycle lane when it is completed.

In comparison, a single divided zebra crossing typically costs between £37,000 and £52,000, while upgrading major motorway junctions can cost up to £100 million.

Residents said the lane design is too disjointed, and users have to cross the road several times.

Local Angie Watson, 40, said: ‘When I heard about the final cost being more than £5 million I was honestly gobsmacked.

‘How on earth can anyone justify spending such a crazy amount of money on a cycle path? Especially one which is all over the place and not even a mile long.

‘The council say the lane is 1.2km long but the actual cycle lane bit is only a few hundred metres long. It hardly seems worth it.

‘It’s a monumental waste of public money and the council leaders should hang their heads in shame.’

Labour councillor Simran Cheema, who is a ward member for Willenhall South, said the project is a ‘waste of money’ that has disrupted lives.

She said: ‘At a cost of more than £5million the scheme is not value for money and has caused major disruption for residents and businesses.

‘The design of the lanes is disjointed and confusing with people having to keep crossing the road to rejoin the lane every few hundred metres.

‘Willenhall is not a cycling town like Oxford or Cambridge so I don’t know who will use the lanes anyway.’

Businesses said their footfall has been hit as customers have had to navigate the building works.

Jack Taylor, 24, the assistant manager of Angling Direct, said the shop has noticed a drop in footfall since the work started last year.

‘I think the money would have been better spent fixing the potholes in the roads rather than providing a blue path for a few cyclists,’ he said.

The situation is even more dire for the Bengal Relish restaurant.

Its owner, Shah Ali, said: ‘I don’t know how my business is going to survive.’

Leader of Walsall Council Adrian Andrew said: ‘This scheme, along with the other transport schemes currently being delivered in Willenhall, will help make cycling more direct, safe and attractive.

‘Improving our connectivity across the borough and the wider Black Country means more opportunities for local people to travel for work and leisure.’

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