Rural Cycling Infrastructure

Ben Maguire Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Ben Maguire (North Cornwall) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo) for securing what is an important debate for rural constituencies such as his and mine. Too often, only urban areas attract the focus for funding and infrastructure when it comes to active travel, yet the benefits to physical and mental health and wellbeing and in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improving air quality are just as applicable, if not more so, in rural areas such as my North Cornwall constituency.

Cornwall is a region with very poor transport infrastructure and high car dependence. The Cornwall local transport plan sets out an ambition for at least 50% of journeys under 5 miles to be completed via active travel by 2030, which is only five years from now. A road network sufficiently free from harm and fear of harm supports wider environmental and public health ambitions and encourages and sustains the adoption of healthier, active modes of travel.

We have in my constituency one of the most popular off-road multi-use trails in the country—the Camel trail. Recent data shows that each year the existing trail attracts more than 400,000 users, of whom more than 50% are residents of Cornwall, and two thirds of these users are cyclists. Currently, only 1% of these trips are used to commute to work. However, with the growing popularity of e-bikes, this use has huge potential to grow.

Early feasibility work by Sustrans shows that there are two ways that the current trail could be significantly expanded to deliver cycling networks that are sufficiently free from risk or fear of harm to make the option of active travel, and especially cycling, an attractive alternative to using the car. I discussed the first expansion option with the Minister recently, so I hope he will bear with me as I set it out once again. The trail, which utilises a redundant railway line that follows the River Camel, could be extended inland to make its final destination the old market town of Camelford—providing much-needed regeneration and giving the residents who live there greater access to the countryside and a viable non-car commuter route to the larger towns of Bodmin and Wadebridge and elsewhere. That not only would help to meet Cornwall’s active travel ambitions, but could provide the Government with an opportunity to meet one of their manifesto promises—to improve responsible access to nature and create nine new national river walks.

The second option would be to introduce a network of quiet lanes across the wider rural area, which would provide connectivity between outlying villages and the Camel trail, offering local people viable options for active travel for their day-to-day living needs. A feasibility study for that has already been conducted by local councillor Dominic Fairman.

The key design principles for rural quiet lanes are as follows. There is the introduction of 30-mph speed limits on roads that already have low motor vehicle flows. People walking, running, cycling and, where appropriate, horse riding should feel safe and comfortable to use the routes, and all users should be aware of those with whom they are sharing the surface of the lane or road, with signage and markings where appropriate. Quiet lanes are a key solution to connect people in rural areas. On many routes, there is insufficient space to build cycle tracks and other infrastructure next to roads. Quiet lanes can also help facilitate a rural modal shift by making people feel safer when using what are already light-traffic lanes for walking and cycling.

We need greater investment to start addressing rural transport poverty. We should make schemes such as those I have outlined a reality and deliver transport infrastructure fit for the carbon-neutral world to which we are aspiring. If the Government really are serious about their claim that they will cut GP appointments by millions by delivering unprecedented investment in our cycling and walking infrastructure, they must consider schemes such as the Camel trail connect project. We do not have a single main line train station in my North Cornwall constituency, but we already have a world-class cycle trail. Now is the time to expand it and fund that shovel-ready plan.