Countryside projects axed after government claws back cash

9.31.00am GMT Wed 20th Jan 2010

Kilian Bourke

Liberal Democrats have reacted with disappointment after three countryside improvement projects fell victim to county council cuts.

The schemes in Cambridge, Northstowe and St Neots have been axed after the government clawed back almost half of the money from a fund supporting the projects.

They were financed under the Housing Growth Fund which was cut from £13.7 million to just £6 million.

Kilian Bourke, Lib Dem spokesperson for access said: "This is hugely disappointing. Almost two years of preparatory work had gone into these projects and to scrap them at this stage is unforgiveable."

The projects, part of the Cambridgeshire Rights of Way Improvement Plan, started in April 2008 and included work to surfacing, gates, trees and hedges. They were expected to run until March 2011.

But the county council has decided to scrap them on April 1 this year after the Tories agreed to stop spending on any but "critical works" last summer, following fears that they could have a £113 million black hole in their finances in five years time.

Cllr Bourke added: "These projects were designed to make the countryside more accessible to more people. They were urgently needed as Cambridgeshire's figures for rural access are already desperately poor. Only 69 per cent of our footpaths and rights of way were classified as "easy to use" at the last count, putting the county council among the lowest performing authorities with one of the worst figures nationally."

"If the county council's finances were in order it might have been able to step in to fund the shortfall, but the £4.9m overspend in adult care, the escalating cost of the Guided Busway to the taxpayer and the shortfall of primary school places have created a fiscal black hole, meaning that these projects, however worthy, have fallen by the wayside."