“A pointless waste of time and taxpayers’ money”: Bike shop owner slams cycle lane claiming it forced him to shut down business

A bike lane in Rotherham, which has already proved itself to be quite controversial amongst the loudest locals, has now drawn ire from a bike shop owner who claims he has been forced to shut his business, blaming the council for going forward with the cycle route despite his many previous assertions and warnings that bike lanes won't work in a hilly area as the public won't ditch their cars for bikes.

Derek Hudson has owned Sondec Cycles in Wellgate, Rotherham since 1987. But he says the damage caused to his trade since the construction of the cycle lane began has led to his decision to shut his shop, as he finds himself unable to earn even a living wage.

The £3.6 million cycling scheme in Rotherham along Broom Road and Wellgate features a range of improvements designed to make it safer and easier for cyclists and pedestrians to use a busy route connecting the south-east of the town to the centre, and includes 1.4km of dedicated bike lanes, three new signalised junctions, one new road crossing, and two improved crossings.

> “Proper cyclists don’t need cycle lanes”: Locals blast “woke” bike lane works, as rugby club claims fans can’t get to matches during “chaos”

However, in a twist of cruel fate, Mr Hudson claims it has made life all the more difficult for him.

He told the Rotherham Advetiser: "It’s ironic but there’s been a dramatic downturn in footfall since they started doing the cycle lanes, which are a pointless waste of time and taxpayers’ money.

"People haven’t been able to access Wellgate or park so they haven’t been bringing their bikes in for repair. They couldn’t work out how to get here with the roads closed off. It’s not been well thought out at all.

"I know the council could only use the money they got for the cycle lanes but really, it would have been better to have said no to it altogether. It’s a lot of money – it could have been used to repair the roads or given it to somewhere where this sort of thing would have worked. Imagine what the health service could have done with £3.6 million."

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Mr Hudson criticised the lack of consultation on the part of the council; however, it seems that any sort of consultation wouldn't have done any good to him, as he was outright in opposition to having the cycle lane built.

In his interview with the Rotherham Advetiser, Mr Hudson continued: "The council came to see me before the work started, brought some paperwork to show me what they were going to do and told me that it would take eight months. I told them it wouldn’t work.

"Wherever there are hills you will not get the general public riding bikes and Rotherham is hilly. They are trying to convince the public to leave their cars at home and ride into Rotherham, but this cycle lane actually stops short of Rotherham, the potholes on the roads are atrocious and people won’t ride up to the roundabout at the top of Wellgate.

"I see two blokes riding up every day between 4 and 4.30 on their way home from work and that’s about it. Even one of the people doing the work said it wasn’t needed."

The newspaper also reports that Mr Hudson lamented the rise of online bike-selling which had resulted in a drop in trade. At its peak the business sold more than 190 bikes over one festive period and that had brought about a change in the direction of the business.

Ironically, online retailers haven't enjoyed the best of times themselves as well, with many well-known players like Wiggle and 2pure also going under as the bike industry slump continues into the new year, with the ripple effects of post-pandemic supply chain issues, Brexit, and the cost of living crisis, all still lingering.

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Mr Hudson also recognised that people aren't buying bikes as much as they used to, which many road.cc readers have also acknowledged as an outcome of the soaring  prices of the latest bikes, and thus forcing his business to pivot towards servicing.

He added: "Also, people don’t buy bikes for Christmas like they used to, so we moved into repairs and parts. 

"Quite often I have had 12 to 15 bikes in in one go and since the roadworks that has dropped off to three or four. Some days I have had none. Last week I had six paying customers, that’s how bad it has got. It’s not enough to make a living anymore.

"The work has been going on for too long and the trade will not come back. Other shops here are suffering too."

The cycleway project has already been lambasted by locals and business owners from the area, having been branded "ridiculous" and "unnecessary" by people who claimed that the lengthy construction work is creating "mayhem" and "chaos" in the town — including making it difficult for rugby fans to attend matches.

Back in September, a Rotherham business owner, who did not wish to be named, dismissed the new infrastructure as "woke" and asserted that "proper cyclists don’t need cycle lanes".

They said: "I was told they were frightened they would be knocked back on the money if they didn’t do the whole scheme in one go and that’s why it is such a mess,” he said. It seems to be being done without the proper resources, therefore creating absolute mayhem and it’s taking months and months.

"How many cyclists do you see in Rotherham? Proper cyclists don’t need cycle lanes and no-one else is going to cycle up Broom Lane. What they are trying to do is make a Holland of us. It’s one of those woke agenda schemes."

A spokesperson for Rotherham Council had previously described the public consultation as being "broadly supportive" and said the aim was to "make it far easier for our communities to lead an active and healthy lifestyle".