Middlesbrough Council to vote on Linthorpe Road cycle lane

Middlesbrough Council’s Labour Executive is preparing to vote on the removal of the unpopular Linthorpe Road cycle lane.

The vote will be taken at next week’s Executive meeting, scheduled for 5pm on Wednesday February 5, with the meeting being open to the public at Middlesbrough Town Hall. This vote is one of the final hurdles to jump before work can get underway. The latest report confirms that a business case and funding agreement has been reached with Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA).

The options being presented to the Executive are either “remove” or “retain” the cycle lane. There is no officer recommendation, which has previously been a source of conflict between the mayors of Middlesbrough and TVCA, with TVCA being responsible for funding the removal of the cycle lane.

It is highly likely that the vote will be in favour of removal, following the Executive vote that took place in December, which backed the TVCA’s design plans.

Work on the project was completed in September 2022 after Middlesbrough Council received £1.7m in government funding through the TVCA to encourage active travel in the town.

But after a public consultation launched last summer found strong support for its removal (approximately 75%), members of the council’s Executive will now consider a final report on its future next Wednesday.

Middlesbrough Labour Mayor Chris Cooke made it an election pledge in 2023 to get the cycle lane removed, while Tees Valley Conservative Mayor Ben Houchen also made it a pledge of his ahead of re-election to serve a third term in May 2024.

Mayor Cooke commented on the latest development. He said: “The people of Middlesbrough have told us that they want to see the end of the Linthorpe Road cycle lane. I pledged to take it out and I’ve always been committed to making that happen. But it couldn’t be done overnight.

“The cycle lane was installed using external funding and due to the council’s financial position we have had to work hard to ensure we could secure the money to start work before any spades went into the ground. I’m delighted that the end is in sight, now that funding from the TVCA is in place to remove the cycle lane and restore Linthorpe Road.

“We’re committed to encouraging forms of active travel like cycling and walking in Middlesbrough, but we have to work with our residents to ensure new infrastructure is in the right place.”

Ahead of the Executive vote that took place in early December (regarding the design plans), Mayor Houchen said: “We’ve always been clear: we would fully fund the work to ensure this happens, and this decision is the next step in allowing us to finally get on with the job of removing this hated cycle lane.

“This has dragged on far too long, and it’s time to put it to bed. It’s been an unnecessary back-and-forth over something that should have been straightforward.”

Middlesbrough Council have said they will receive funds to carry out removal work and will not be liable to pay back the Department for Transport grant funding secured to install the cycle lane.