REVEALED: How SNP splurge £1MILLION a WEEK of taxpayers’ cash on cycling charity as they ramp up war on motorist

By Craig Mcdonald For The Scottish Mail On Sunday[1]

Published: 15:48, 22 June 2024 | Updated: 16:02, 22 June 2024

A pro-cycling charity has been paid an astonishing GBP1million per WEEK by the SNP[2] Government since before the pandemic to deliver anti-car measures across Scotland.

Bristol-based sustrans are behind works to narrow roads and build cycle lanes the length and breadth of the country.

The building work has sparked despair among small businesses who've seen turnover decimated while projects are carried out.

It has also prompted criticism over value for money, with many cycle lanes seeing little use, while resultant reductions in road capacity have led to increased congestion.

Projects which have prompted criticism range from those in the central belt to the Shetland Isles, with an upcoming scheme near the M8 motorway in Glasgow[3] set to cause traffic mayhem and misery for commuters.

Two wheels good, four wheels bad: Drivers are being squeezed out by cycle lanes

Despite an apparent lack of demand for the schemes, sustrans is being paid around GBP60million this year from taxpayers, via Transport Scotland, to deliver projects through its Places for Everyone programme.

We can reveal that it also received grants or contracts from the Scottish Government of GBP71million last year, with GBP63million the year before that, and GBP59million in 2019/20.

The sums work out at a rate of well over GBP1million per week since the pandemic hit Scotland.

In all, the charity, which has seen staff numbers rocket to 700 as the SNP-Greens pushed an anti-car agenda, earned an incredible GBP397million from Scottish taxpayers since 2016.

Small business owner Hassia Chalmers has told how the effect of sustrans work in near her independent jewellers left her in tears and had a devastating impact on businesses there.

She said: 'The problem is that these projects may seem good in theory, but in reality they are unwanted and are damaging to businesses and to the way real people actually get around.'

Another cycle route, in Shetland, was described by a local community councillor as 'an atrociously bad waste of money'.

Businessman Donald MacLeod, a leading member of Scotland's night time industries, said: 'The sums of money which this charity have received from Government are quite unbelievable, and it is perhaps little wonder there is not enough left in the pot for teachers and to help the NHS.

'The work which has, and is, being carried out in Glasgow, for example, has helped reduce footfall and that is a really disappointing.'

The GBP130,000-per year chief executive of sustrans, Xavier Brice, states on his company biography that he 'is a lifelong cyclist and a bit of a transport geek'.

It adds: 'He's a long-term sustrans supporter and has too many cycles of various shapes and sizes.'

Meanwhile, trustee Heather Preen adds in her profile that she has 'a special interest in building relationships with local communities'.

Pedal power: But business say they are being disadvantaged as drivers eschew city centres

It adds: 'Heather lives in London.

She has a dog, a pair of walking boots and doesn't own a car.'

Works which sustrans are involved in include a project which is set to bring misery to thousands of commuters when a major M8 motorway junction at Charing Cross, Glasgow, is closed off for months this year.

In addition, popular Byres Road in the heart of the city's West End, is also being ripped up in order to build cycling lanes.

Beatrice Wishart, Lib Dem MSP for Shetland, said: 'I am keen to encourage greater use of active travel and public transport in order to reduce pollution and bring down emissions but these projects cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution.

'There needs to be proper engagement with both communities and businesses to ensure that the right measures are in place in the right location and disruption is kept to a minimum.'

A spokeswoman for sustrans said: 'Places for Everyone is our permanent infrastructure fund for Scotland and, supported by Transport Scotland, we provide funding and expertise to partners to help deliver walking, wheeling and cycling improvements across the country.

'In 2023/24 the programme supported over 200 projects at various stages of development, helping to deliver multi-million-pound transformations in Scotland's cities as well as new walking and cycling routes between some of Scotland's smallest communities.

'The funding we receive empowers people to make healthier and more sustainable journeys every day, from enabling children to get to and from school safely to facilitating more convenient access to local businesses.'

The M8 on-ramp works also include 'essential' waterproofing upgrades, as well as the 'upgraded footways, segregated cycle facilities and new traffic signals being funded via sustrans' Places for Everyone programme'.

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'We are investing in ambitious on and off-road segregated walking and cycling routes, safer junctions, and improved design of place.

This is because public feedback and evidence shows speed and volume of traffic deters people from walking and cycling.

'Since 2010, the Community Links and Places for Everyone programmes have delivered around 455 miles of walking and cycling paths, of which around 290 miles is completely new infrastructure.

'We continue to support infrastructure projects that contribute to the transformation of our towns, cities and villages and the delivery of our 2030 vision for place and people-focused communities that enable active travel modes to be the most popular choice for shorter everyday journeys.'

? Click here to visit the Scotland home page for the latest news and sport[4]

References

1. ^ Craig Mcdonald For The Scottish Mail On Sunday (www.dailymail.co.uk)
2. ^ SNP (www.dailymail.co.uk)
3. ^ Glasgow (www.dailymail.co.uk)
4. ^ Click here to visit the Scotland home page for the latest news and sport (www.dailymail.co.uk)