Sow Brook Path – the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

The Sow Brook cyclepath has unexpectedly become the centre of a political controversy in this May's local elections.

This is the path running from Dunchurch Road to St Cross Hospital alongside the Sow Brook. It was built in 2004 as part of Rugby's cycle network. Most of the path is on land owned by Rugby School who granted the right to the Council to build the path but can on six months notice take back the land and stop public access. This section of the path is unlit and because it lacks a tarmac surface is in poor condition.

In return for a payment of £1 the school granted the Council the right to build and maintain the cycleway and "to allow the public to pass and repass along the Cycleway on foot or by non-motorised cycle only". The agreement says that "The School or the Council may terminate this Agreement at any time on giving six months' notice in writing to the other party." The agreement is very detailed running to six pages and includes the listing of various requirements, covenants, dispute procedures, rights and obligations for the School and the Council. It states that Rugby Borough Council has to maintain the path "in good repair and condition and to the Schools reasonable satisfaction". Following complaints by local residents Cllr Bill Lewis has taken a series of photographs of the path's condition and sent them to Rugby Borough Council. The conservative run Council would appear to be failing in its legal obligations to keep the path "in good repair and condition".

Local residents would like the path tarmacked and lit throughout its length. Recently the Focus team spoke to one Eastlands resident who would allow her daughter to cycle to school along the path if it was properly lit but instead adds to Rugby's peak hour traffic problems by driving her daughter to school.

In 2012 Bill Lewis spoke to both the Council and Rugby School about improving this path. Rugby School said the School would consider extending the notice period to five years if this would trigger the Council upgrading the path. However the Council staff said that there was no money for an upgrade.

Cllr Bill Lewis spoke to the School and the Council again this year. The School is still prepared to consider extending the notice period to five years. The Council still say they have no money to upgrade the path. A Liberal Democrat amendment to this year's budget which amongst other things provided for footpath and cycleway repairs was voted down by Tory and Labour councillors - see http://rugby.lib.dm/a5Tbd.

The political controversy arises because the Labour candidate for Rokeby & Overslade has circulated a leaflet saying "I will work to change the landowner's minds so that resurfacing can happen in a material that will not wear out and allow water to run off". As can be read above the "landowner's minds" [sic] do not need changing. The reason the path has not been surfaced in tarmac is because the Council does not have funds in its budget to do so. The reason the Council does not have funds in its budget this year to do so is because other councillors, including nine out of the ten Labour councillors, voted down the Liberal Democrat budget amendment. (For completeness we should point out the one Labour councillor who had the good sense not to vote against the Liberal Democrats' budget amendment was Rokeby & Overslade's Labour councillor).

Cllr Lewis pointed out the problem with the Labour candidate's proposals in an e-mail to local residents. It appears that this statement upset the ward's Labour councillor who then wrote to the Rugby Observer saying "It seems Coun Lewis is happy to mislead the public with half the facts".

Cllr Bill Lewis has set the record straight [once again] with a letter published by the Rugby Observer on 30 April 2015. This article is a slightly longer version of the published letter.

Summary

The current condition of the path is not the fault of Rugby School. Solving the problem does not require compulsorily purchasing the land from the School. Solving the problem requires Rugby's councillors to vote the money required to do so. This is not "half the facts" this is the whole truth of the matter.