YOU reported (Oct 1 2010) that Tidenham Parish Council has objected to the proposed Chepstow/Tintern/Brockweir cycle path. They have in fact filed no less than 21 sets of objections to the path. Some of the objections are particularly offensive to cyclists, particularly the suggestion that the provision of the cycle path would create a risk of burglary, theft and anti-social behaviour to adjacent properties and landowners.
Looking at the objections as a whole, it is clear that Tidenham Parish Council is hostile to cyclists and opposed to the provision of any cycle path whatsoever in Tidenham parish, and all possible objections have been raised to support this.
The path would be particularly beneficial to people who live in Tidenham Parish, and this is reflected in the large number of letters and comments in support of the path by residents of the Parish of Tidenham. Tidenham Parish Council's objections to the cycle path clearly do not represent the views of most of their parishioners.
Surely Tidenham Parish Council has a duty to consider a planning application in a balanced way on the basis of the evidence available and is therefore wrong to wholeheartedly support the views of a small anti-cycling minority? – David Berry, Chepstow