Following the public enquiry, the inspector's report refusing Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) the right to make The Thicket footpath a cycle track seemed a somewhat hollow victory. Her conclusion was she could find no reason why the route could not be shared. The primary reason for refusal was lack of any risk assessment or impact analysis. In fact, her comments guided CCC for a better attempt next time.
In preparation for what seemed the inevitable, Cambridgeshire Walks submitted a Freedom of Information Request for the following :
- Details of all costs incurred to date or outstanding regarding this order.
- Following the Secretary of State's decision letter to Mr Ouditt dated 10 May 2017, does Cambridgeshire County Council intend to take further steps to implement the order?
- If the answer to 2. above is 'Yes', what are the details of costs budgeted for these further steps?
The FOI response received is revealing. Somewhat annoying CCC spent £5,640 employing Mr Cain Ormondroyd, barrister, for the two day enquiry to give objectors a hard time. More importantly, it confirms CCC have given up on converting The Thicket footpath into a cycle track. A victory for common sense indeed!
To read the original post alert of the change with readers comments, and links to CCC's order and the enquiry experience, click here.
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