New Forest votes against public cycle hire scheme

Members of the New Forest National Park Authority voted against the creation of a public cycle hire scheme in the area on Tuesday afternoon, despite £2million funding for the scheme from the Department for Transport.

The scheme was due to commence from April 2015, but vocal objections from anti-cycling campaigners in the New Forest have now seen it shelved. The DfT funding needed to be spent by March 2015, so it would now appear that the funding will be lost.

Over 2,000 people signed an online petition to support the cycle hire scheme's go-ahead, and it attracted support from cycling luminaries such as Chris Boardman and Trek professional Jens Voigt.

No reasons have so far been given for the NFNPA members' vote to scrap the scheme, but the NFNPA says it will publish details later on Tuesday.

The decision was met with criticism from the cycle hire scheme's supporters.

Anti-cycling campaigners thwart New Forest cycle hire scheme

New Forest cycle hire scheme could be scrapped despite £2million of government funding