COUNCIL plans for a £10m cycle lane from Woodside to Liscard have been slammed as "bonkers" by the leader of the Wirral Conservatives.

Wirral Council is planning to move forward with a £10m cycle line connecting Liscard to Birkenhead.

The local authority voted to go ahead with plans for a cycle lane between Birkenhead and New Brighton in 2022 though it is only moving forward with phase one of the scheme for the time being.

The current plans are for a continuous cycle route to run from Hamilton Square to Liscard with changes to 17 roads.

The scheme is currently projected to cost around £10m though this is based on a dated projection that the whole scheme extending to New Brighton would cost £18m.

Therefore the cost is expected to increase further due to continued inflation since 2020.

READ: Wirral Council plans to move forward with £10m cycle lane

Speaking after a council consultation, Councillor Jeff Green stated that the “majority” of Wallasey residents were “against the scheme”.

He added that a previous consultation was slammed as “woeful” in 2022, with residents along the proposed route complaining they had not been consulted.

Cllr. Green said: “In February, I was invited by Cllr. Ian Lewis to meet with him, and the Leader of the Council, and the RNIB and hear their concerns over this proposal.

“It was clear then that the proposals for so-called floating bus stops and sharing the pedestrianised Liscard Precinct with cyclists is a recipe for disaster.

“Following complaints from local councillors, the Town Hall was forced to re-run the consultation and the results are, frankly, damning.

“The views of residents are clear – this is a monumental waste of taxes.

“A scheme that does not command the support a majority of the people most affected is not, in my view, viable

“Wirral Council does not ‘know best’ – we exist to serve our residents.

“And in spite of the ‘Active Travel Taliban’, residents remain opposed to the loss of parking, pedestrian crossings and trees that this scheme would require.”

Councillor Lesley Rennie added: “Which part of ‘No’ does the Council not understand? There is no desire for this scheme in Wallasey and the Council’s own consultation proves it.

“If Labour pushes this through, Phase 1 of the cycle lane in Seacombe and Liscard will be a disaster for residents and all road users.”

The funding for the scheme is expected to be covered by active travel grants awarded to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority which are earmarked for improvements to help people walk and cycle.

A Wirral Council environment committee report said some concerns raised about the scheme would be taken into account with further designs and asked councillors to approve moving a business case forward for the scheme.

The report said the scheme needs to progress so that it can be delivered between 2027 and 2032 or Wirral could face “losing out on a significant funding opportunity.”

It also said the plans tie into the wider regeneration of west Wirral and “deliver a sustainable left bank of the Mersey which includes increased levels of journeys being undertaken by active modes as a key part of the vision.”