Work on a new cycleway running through a Central London ward is expected to start next month with a completion date given of February 2026.

Cycleway 43 (Section B), as it is known, is to be installed along George Street between Edgware Road and Gloucester Place in Marylebone. Cllr Max Sullivan, Cabinet Member for Streets at Westminster City Council, said the changes “will make it a safer environment for all road users”.

The three Conservative Marylebone ward councillors have however described the scheme as a “badly designed and poorly thought-out proposal”, with concerns including the impact on congestion and how it will fit in with the planned pedestrianisation of Oxford Street.

Costed at around £1.5million the cycleway is proposed by Westminster City Council in partnership with Transport for London (TfL). It will include a range of upgrades geared towards improving the environment for pedestrians and cyclists, from reallocating kerbside space and widening footways to the segregated cycle lane.

Approval for a new cycleway running between Bayswater Road and Gloucester Place was approved by the council in December 2021. According to a report the route underwent further public consultation in 2023, in response to which George Street was chosen as the best option to introduce the cycle lane.

The report states the design is “fully in line with national cycle infrastructure guidance” and that the surrounding area has a relatively low car ownership rate at 28 per cent.

A Stage One consultation was carried out for six weeks from May 15 to June 25 in 2023, which received 1,400 responses. Overall 60 per cent of respondents were in-favour of the scheme, though this dropped to 29 per cent when considering Marylebone and Hyde Park ward responses only.

‘Serious concerns’

A Traffic Management Order (TMO) consultation was carried out this summer on a more local level, which received 153 responses. The majority of the representations, which are detailed in a document online, oppose the installation of the cycle lane.

One person wrote they “cannot think of anything more ludicrous than this proposal”, adding: “In all this promotion of cyclists, there is no control over their behaviour and until that is addressed, pandering to them is at the cost of motorists and pedestrians.”

Another wrote: “As a regular cyclist on George Street, I feel there is absolutely no need for a cycle lane. Furthermore, the large reduction in the number of residents’ parking bays is unacceptable when there are already too few residents’ parking bays available in the neighbourhood and the cost of off street parking is punitive.”

The Marylebone Association was also among those to submit a representation raising concerns, as were the local councillors, Barbara Arzymanow, Ian Rowley and Karen Scarborough.

In a joint submission, the trio wrote they have “serious concerns” about the proposal. They include the running of the consultation during the school holidays and the potential impacts on the flow of traffic and congestion.

On the planned pedestrianisation of Oxford Street and how this may affect George Street, the councillors wrote: “It is wasteful of council tax paying residents not to adopt a joined-up approach and take into account the Mayor of London’s traffic plans. Marylebone will almost certainly take the brunt of displaced traffic when Oxford Street is closed to all vehicles, so it is particularly important to Marylebone residents.”

“The Marylebone Councillors cannot support this badly designed and poorly thought-out proposal,” they wrote. “If the Cabinet Member was confident about these proposals short cuts would not have been made. For example, we note not all the information was provided at the time of the consultation launch and excluding parents at the school on the corner of Bryanston Square and George Street also raises questions.”

‘Safer environment for all road users’

Dr Mark Smithies, Coordinator at Westminster Cycling Campaign, said: “Westminster has been behind the curve in providing safe cycleways with protection from motor traffic. The result is hostile streets where many people, especially women, children and less confident riders, wouldn’t consider cycling.

“So at Westminster Cycling Campaign we’re really excited about Cycleway 43 – it will include cycle tracks on George Street that are physically separated from the road, where many more people could feel safe to get out and ride. We expect to see many more people able to make trips to school, work, shops and just for fun on this healthy form of transport.”

Cllr Sullivan said: “This council was elected on a platform of making walking and cycling safer and more pleasant.

“We value the feedback of Westminster residents, the majority of whom supported this scheme in consultation. Regardless of whether residents supported it or not, all feedback has been carefully considered and used to improve the final design.

“Safer pedestrian crossings and the protected cycle track will make it a safer environment for all road users. For motor vehicles, there will be no changes to movements or access on George Street, and the resulting street width will be similar to many other two-way streets in Central London, including Mortimer Street.”

The implementation of Section A of Cycleway 43, which is to run between Bayswater Road and Edgware Road in the Hyde Park ward, was approved in July. Work on Section B is expected to begin in October with the hope it will be completed by February 2026.