Cyclists, campaigners and local Labour politicians have questioned the logic of removing cycle lanes which cost at least £8m to install, reports James Cracknell

Darren Braithwaite on the C1 cycleway in Freezywater — Darren Braithwaite on Cycleway 1 in Freezywater, which he uses to commute to his job with Tesco

A Conservative election pledge to remove £8million-worth of cycle lanes in eastern Enfield has drawn anger and dismay from local cyclists, campaigners and Labour politicians.

The Tories revealed in their manifesto this week that they would aim to rip out nearly five miles of segregated cycle lanes along Hertford Road should they win power at May’s local election.

The cycle lanes run from Freezywater in the north of the borough down to Fore Street in Edmonton Green, near the North Circular, and were funded using part of the £42million ‘Mini Holland’ grant given to Enfield Council by Transport for London in 2014 – a flagship Conservative project of the pro-cycling Boris Johnson mayoralty, before he became prime minister.

Twelve years on, however, the Enfield Conservatives have pledged in their 2026 manifesto: “We will remove the Hertford Road cycle lane to improve road safety and traffic movement.”

The cycle lanes form part of the much larger Cycleway 1, which runs all the way into central London. The final part of the route in Enfield was completed in 2023.

Another major cycle route in the borough, Cycleway 20 between Enfield Town and Palmers Green, does not get mentioned in the manifesto, but the Dispatch understands that removing these cycle lanes would also be a long-term aspiration for the Tories should they win power.

Approached for comment today (Friday 27th), TfL confirmed that any council which decides to remove cycling infrastructure that it has funded, without its permission, would be ordered to refund the money – in this case just over £8m.

This would be an additional cost for any future Tory administration to cover, on top of the roadworks bill for removing the cycle lanes.

A TfL spokesperson said: “If boroughs wish to remove any schemes funded by us we ask that they first engage with us and discuss why they wish to do so. We do remind boroughs and their leaders that if they fail to do this, we have powers to recoup the funding provided to them.”

While Enfield Conservatives claim to have made their own calculation of how much their election promise would cost to deliver, they have refused to reveal it.

Asked where the money would come from, local Tory leader Alessandro Georgiou said: “The money will not come from frontline services but instead the savings from waste-of-money Labour projects.”

Cllr Georgiou has frequently said in social media videos that a potential future Conservative administration would “end the war on the driver” in Enfield. Other previously-announced manifesto pledges include removing two low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the west of the borough and scrapping recent moves to introduce more 20mph zones.

This morning, as the Dispatch rode along a section of the Hertford Road cycle lanes, cyclist Darren Braithwaite stopped for a chat and explained that he used them to travel to his night shifts at the Tesco warehouse near the M25.

“It will be annoying if they [the Tories] get rid of the cycle lanes,” he said. “When you go down the road at night, with all the lorries you wouldn’t feel safe without the cycle lanes. I used to ride on the pavement but now I use the lanes. There is another woman I know who uses them as well.

“I wasn’t a fan of Boris [Johnson] but I think the cycle lanes are brilliant. It was the best thing he did!”

Shared bus stop boarders, where cycle lanes run alongside bus stops, have been criticised by some blind charities

Enfield North MP Feryal Clark, whose constituency office is in Hertford Road, also spoke to the Dispatch today. She acknowledged there should be improvements made to the cycle lanes, such as the shared bus stop boarders which have been criticised for their impact on visually impaired people, but added: “To remove the cycle lanes completely is madness.”

David Hilliard, a local cycling instructor who helps run the free ‘Dr Bike’ mechanic sessions funded by the council – as well as being a member of Better Streets for Enfield and London Cycling Campaign – also gave his reaction to the Tory election pledge.

“When I ask people why they decided to start cycling, the cycle lanes are often cited as a reason,” he told the Dispatch.

“You want to create an environment that encourages people to make healthy choices, but by making it harder for people to cycle, that is a deliberate step backwards which makes it more unsafe for cyclists and discourages people to make environmentally sensible and healthy choices.”

David also mentioned the importance of “transport equality”, with low-income people who cannot afford to drive needing other options.

Invited to comment on the cycle lane removal pledge, council leader Ergin Erbil said: “Cycle lanes cut air pollution, improve people’s health, and make our streets safer. Scrapping it would mean more traffic, worse air, and more dangerous roads, while also taking away a cheaper way for people to get around.

“It would also cost a significant amount of money to rip it out, money that could be better spent on local priorities.”

Asked to explain how removing cycle lanes would improve road safety as the Conservative manifesto claims, Cllr Georgiou added: “Road casualties work both ways. I want cyclists to be safe but I also want pedestrians to be safe. In addition to that we need to keep traffic moving, especially for commuters, shoppers, the disabled, elderly and pregnant women.

“We’ve met thousands of people across Enfield that hate these underused cycle lanes.”

Cllr Georgiou also confirmed that there would be an opportunity for local people to comment on the cycle lanes in a public consultation.

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