CONVERSION OF FOOTPATHS INTO CYCLE TRACKS (Hansard, 6 July 1984)

§ Mr. Franks
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this we may take Lords amendment No. 4.

§ Mr. Franks
This amendment is an essential clarification of the Bill's intent. Once a foothpath has been converted to a cycle track, steps must be taken by those responsible for the cycle track to ensure that it is capable of use by cyclists. For example, a suitable surface will be required and it will need to be properly maintained. Some expenditure will clearly be involved. It was never the intention that this should be other than a local highway authority's responsibility. If the cycle track is not maintained at public expense, the local highway authority will be unable to install the harriers and do the other work provided for in clause 4.
In the amendment, the responsibility to maintain a cycle track at public expense is tied to the responsibility given under the Highways Act 1980 and to the definition of highways maintained at public expense, which appears in section 329 of that Act. The amendment to subsection (9) is linked to the amendment to subsection (1) and deals with the revocation of footpath conversion orders.
When a footpath conversion order is revoked under subsection (9) and the cycle track reverts to a footpath, it is appropriate that the footpath should be maintainable only by the local highway authority if it maintained it previously. That is what the amendment seeks to provide. It also clarifies the position where the revocation order involves part of the footpath only.
I hope that within a few moments the long and tortuous journey of the Bill's legislative process will reach its destination. The Bill had its genesis almost 12 months ago, on 20 July 1983, and has followed the twists and turns of the parliamentary process through the various Corridors, Chambers and Lobbies of Westminster, and the lobby pressure groups that are part and parcel of the parliamentary process.
It would be remiss of me if I did not take the opportunity to put on record my sincere appreciation and thanks to all who have assisted in the Bill's passage'—to 627 my colleagues on both sides of the House who have given the Bill their support and to the officials of the Department of Transport, who have been magnificent with the advice, assistance, guidance and encouragement which have been so readily forthcoming during the past 12 months. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Minister for her well-known love and encouragement of cycling. She is a most remarkable person when it comes to this activity. I am extremely grateful to her. The noble Lord Huntly played his part in the other place in ensuring that the Bill had a fairly smooth passage there. I am extremely grateful to all who have played a part, and I hope that shortly the Bill will become what it should be—an Act.

§ Mr. Colin Moynihan (Lewisham, East)
It is worth concentrating momentarily on these amendments, because they greatly enhance the safety of cyclists. That is important and results in part from the maintenance of cycle tracks. I am glad that time was given in another place to clarifying where the responsibility for maintenance exists and will rest in the future. It enhances the quality of the Bill.
I should like to congratulate, as I know would hon. Members on both sides of the House, my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Franks) on his assiduity and hard work in the preparation of the Bill. He has done an enormous amount of good work, which has been welcomed in the House and by those interested in the development of cycle tracks. I am pleased to see in the Chamber my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Environment with responsibility for sport, and the previous Minister with responsibility for sport, the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Small Health (Mr. Howell). That shows how important this measure is. I should like once again to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness on the good work that he has done in improving the scope for and safety and interest in cycle tracks and cycling throughout the country.

§ Mrs. Chalker
These amendments are much needed, and the Government are therefore pleased to support them. I add my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Franks), who took up this Bill with a great deal of enthusiasm and piloted it through. I add my thanks to my officials, who, as he said, have been unceasingly helpful in trying to reach the right balance to encourage the use of cycling in places more appropriate than our roads, which can so often be dangerous for cyclists. They have done a first-class job. I cannot praise them too highly.
These amendments are necessary because maintenance is an important part of encouraging the use of cycle tracks, and I hope that they will be accepted by the House. I hope that the Bill, in going on its way now, will give a new lease of life to the older cyclists, amongst whom I must now number myself. It is a good deal safer to cycle on a cycle track than on the open road. I thank all those who have been involved, and I know that cyclists throughout the country will look forward to ensuring that the Bill, when it receives the Royal Assent, is quickly put to good use.