District councillors fear that decade-long plans to connect Kenilworth with a cycle route through Abbey Fields could be scuppered by Warwickshire County Council.

The complex process of establishing an achievable path for walking, wheeling and cycling through the historic site has finally come up trumps but is reliant on the highways authority installing toucan crossings at the Bridge Street and Borrowell Lane ends.

Warwick District Council already has the funding in place for the path but the approval to move forward only starts the process for the county to find the estimated £528,000 to pay for crossings that would have been shelved had the district not proceeded.

Reform UK won power in May's local elections with new leader Cllr George Finch proclaiming plans to scrap some active travel projects, including those already funded by central government, during a meeting in September.

He said at that time that the new administration would "bounce that (money) back to the national government and they can work on other things", insisting cycle lanes would "eventually destroy our town centres" before describing them as "bogus".

The Abbey Fields plan was discussed and taken forward by the district's cabinet – panel of Green and Labour councillors in charge of major service areas – last week but Cllr Andrew Milton was wary of the reliance on Shire Hall. 

"People will be aware that the political climate has changed," he said.

"While we previously had an administration (Conservative) there that was at least verbally supportive of cycling, we now seem to have an administration that is verbally against."

Those sentiments were echoed by Cllr Judy Falp, someone who serves at district and county level. 

"I have reservations about WCC involvement," she said.

"When they are talking about sending money back to the government for schemes like this, you do have concerns."

However, leader Cllr Ian Davison and his portfolio holder for decarbonisation Cllr Lowell Williams declared faith that the county would hold up its part of the bargain.

Cllr Davison said: "There are statements and so on but there is also the business of working in partnership and getting on with things.

"We will have to see how that plays out but I am hopeful that the councillors there are aware of their duties and obligations."

Cllr Williams said the issues were "well understood" and that "we know the risk" but added: "I would say in defence, we have had nothing but support from the county council and officers to date. Let's go forward with a spirit of confidence.

"If there is a problem that we encounter later on, we will deal with that problem at that point and find a way to overcome it."

Cllr Milton congratulated the district's decision makers on maintaining commitment to an idea that "would have been an easy one to leave on the too-difficult pile" given the historical constraints of the site.

Attention turned to public feedback which highlighted the potential for walkers, the disabled and cyclists to end up in conflict by sharing the same space. 

As things stand, the district's preference remains to build one continuous route but a two-path alternative, both ending by the swimming pool where cyclists would have to dismount, is also being considered.

"The preference for many cyclists would be for a continuous path," said Cllr Milton.

"I can see the attraction of a two-destination model in theory but in practice it is problematic, largely because we could end up with something that seems safe but is actually unenforceable. 

"That is likely to increase conflict because there will inevitably be people who don't follow the rules. 

"We had a long conversation with people who ride bikes in Kenilworth about this. It is far preferable to use measures that encourage bikes to slow down – different surfacing, layout, something more than signage – and becomes self-policing and enforcing."

Cllr Williams said: "Our ambition is for a continuous route, the two-destination path is a fallback position that we hope not to be in."

He went on to say that a more detailed design was scheduled to come forward to cabinet in March 2026 in the hope of starting construction in summer 2026.

"I really believe this project reflects the collaborative values which we share as an administration," he concluded.

"We are listening to all voices and responding with care to get a cleaner, safer and more connected community."