CAMPAIGNERS have been waiting more than three months for the council to provide a presentation outlining its approach to cycling in the county.

A single slide from a presentation, which stated senior Conservative councillors at Worcestershire County Council had made it clear they did not support any schemes that resulted in the loss of car parking spaces or road space for cyclists or pedestrians, was leaked in August.

The leak lead to a freedom of information (FOI) request for the whole presentation but the information has still not been made public.

The council is usually obliged to respond requests within 20 working days.

Dan Brothwell, chairman of Bike Worcester, said: “The longer it goes on the more it makes me start to wonder what is going on at the county council.

“I just find it fascinating that all the council’s documents are about active travel and I have been littered with things saying ‘active travel this and active travel that’ and I’m told how good active travel is for your health and it will cut congestion but when it comes to this, the council doesn’t really seem to follow through with their actions.

“That presentation is, I guess, a little embarrassing but if that is what is being circulated internally and that is what they are telling officers then I don’t understand why they are not making that public.

"If that is what their policy is then they have got to own it.”

The presentation said council leaders had set clear political ‘red lines’ which “significantly” restricted what the council could do.

The council has since said the leaked slide was not an accurate description of the council’s approach.

The council had put forward plans in the hope of securing more than £1.3 million in government walking and cycling money but will only receive £784,000 after both bids fell short.

A spokesman for the council said: “Due to the measures in place relating to the national response to Covid-19, changes have been made to the way the council is dealing with requests for information, including FOI requests. This is because resources are being diverted to prioritise delivery of key services.

"We respond to all requests as soon as we are able to.”