Around 80 residents in Seaton Sluice have united to oppose plans for a new cycleway through the village, part of the A193 Seafront Active Travel Scheme linking Blyth to existing cycle routes in North Tyneside.
At a packed meeting at Seaton Sluice Community Centre, residents criticised the proposals, citing concerns over road narrowing, safety, and a lack of consultation from Northumberland County Council. Plans to remove existing bus laybys also sparked fears of increased congestion.
Residents voice fears over safety and traffic
Ian Truby, speaking at the meeting organised by residents, described the changes as a potential "nightmare." He said: "What's the point of altering something that's not broken? I don't know if there have been any surveys about the amount of traffic that comes through our village now, but any form of interaction with other vehicles is going to be a nightmare. We're going to pay £14 million to change something that will hardly ever get used."
Roy White, who lives on the proposed route, raised concerns about reversing onto his drive. "By law, we're not allowed to reverse onto the main road, we have to reverse onto our drives. The traffic will make that very difficult if they narrow the road. It's going to be carnage - deliveries at the Astley Arms practically block the road now."
Survey reveals overwhelming opposition
An independent survey obtained almost 700 responses from villagers, with the vast majority opposing the scheme. Stephen Pegg, one of the main organisers of the survey, said: "We have 680 surveys completed. Nearly everyone in the village is against it. They could have upgraded the cycle route that is already there. If it came to all or nothing, I would rather nothing - it's madness."
Figures collected by the survey organisers showed 90% either broadly opposed the proposals or supported some elements but had concerns. Just 7% supported the scheme, while 3% said they needed more information. Additionally, 82% said they were unaware of the 2025 consultation, and 86% said they felt there had been "insufficient opportunity" to influence the scheme.
John Brewis added: "The council always say they work in partnership with communities. To me, it's just empty words. If they had consulted properly, this wouldn't have happened."
Council responds with updated designs
Coun Richard Wearmouth, deputy leader of the council, acknowledged the feedback. "I was very clear in our last cabinet meeting about this project that we were still consulting and listening to the views of residents, and the scheme design was not final. There are now changes to the project as a result which hopefully will address a number of the points raised."
Wearmouth added: "These will be detailed and communicated before the works get started. The project has the potential to significantly better link people up and down this part of the Northumberland coast and on into North Tyneside be they residents or visitors. I look forward to the next stages."
The council stated: "We recognise that residents hold a range of views about the A193 proposals and recent engagement events have generated strong interest and valuable feedback on issues including road safety, traffic, bus services, parking and accessibility. In response to the feedback gathered from our six in person events and online survey, updated designs now include the reinstatement of bus lay-bys and further refinements have been made following feedback from communities. The design has been developed to balance the needs of all road users and continues to accommodate two-way traffic, including larger vehicles."
The council added: "We remain committed to listening to local voices to ensure that proposals balance local feedback with the wider benefits of the project and information about our latest public events has been delivered to approximately 1,700 properties in the local area as well as being promoted through the Northumberland County Council website, social media, emails, town and parish councils and elected members. We'd like to thank everyone for their feedback so far."
