MP gets on his bike to see merit of cycle path project

HENLEY MP Freddie van Mierlo was challenged to take part in a bike ride along a “terrifying” stretch of road between Sonning Common and Emmer Green.

The Sonning Common Cycleway working party is campaigning for a purpose-built “Greenway” to be built as a direct and alternative route to the busy B481, which has semi-blind bends and uneven surfaces.

The project was first proposed in 2020 and despite support from residents, several barriers to its completion remain in place, which include negotiating with landowners to secure a route and finding the funding for its construction.

Mr van Mierlo joined about a dozen cyclists on Monday to ride from Sonning Common village hall in Wood Lane along the B481 to the village shops in Emmer Green and back.

Many, even those who were keen cyclists, said it was a route they would deem too dangerous to ride down on their own.

Paul Waterman, of the Cycleway group, said that he was feeling very positive about the future following the ride.

He said. “I’ve had a lot of support today from the team, who have been trying to pull this together for several years.

“It has been absolutely splendid to have so much support from people who really know what we need and why we need it.”

Mr Waterman joked that it had been lovely to be joined by Mr van Mierlo but would prefer to do it again when the cycleway was built so they could “enjoy the scenery”.

Mr van Mierlo said the experience had been enjoyable due to the safety precautions in place, which included a support vehicle and riding two abreast in groups of six.

He said: “I can imagine cycling it alone at night when it’s dark, it’s going to be a pretty terrifying prospect.

“I think what I’ve taken away is just the amount of support there is for an initiative like this but also how close we are to Emmer Green and Reading.

“It would be a huge asset for residents in Sonning Common to be able to access Reading safely at ease but also for residents from Reading who want to access nature, the environment and the countryside that we have here in Oxfordshire. So it’s a win-win.” Mr van Mierlo said that he would be working with his counterparts in Reading as well as Sonning Common and Henley South county councillor Leigh Rawlins to help see the project forward.

He said: “Usually, with a scheme like this, it’s land ownership and it’s money that are the key things. So, if we can get over those, then I think we’re on to a winner.”

Mika Rinta-Suksi, who lives in Sonning Common and works in construction, said: “I’ve never done this part of the road and I would not do it again. The road is poor quality and it’s just not wide enough. It’s not safe. You’re blocking the traffic and you just feel that you need to go faster.”

Neil Bellamy, who lives just outside the village, said it was also his first time riding along the B481.

“It’s just too dangerous,” he said. “I’d always find another alternative route.”

Mr Bellamy said that while the next stage of the project sounded complicated, it could be achieved with the right support. He added: “It just needs the weight of politicians to get behind it and make it happen.”

Lucretia Edwards, a retired project manager from Caversham, said she had cycled on the road before but it was “terrifying”. She said: “There’s lots of bends in the road, there are overhanging trees and fast cars.

“I think these days a lot of people in cars have less respect for cyclists and they don’t always follow the rules of giving you one-and-a-half metres gap between them and yourself.”

A survey of residents carried out by the cycleway working party in 2023 found that 99 per cent of 1,212 respondents supported the project. Fifty-four per cent of respondents were from Emmer Green and 46 per cent from Sonning Common.

Suzanne Hopes, who lives in Sonning Common, was passing the group before they set off.

She said that the cycleway would be well used by her son James, 11, who has just started at Highdown in Emmer Green.

She said: “James is a very able, capable cyclist. He’s only in Year 7 and we would love him to be able to cycle but we don’t feel it’s safe.”

The cycleway group is proposing two potential routes, one to the east of the B481, which closely follows the existing road, and another to the West, which takes a slight detour at Abbey Rugby Club.

Sonning Common resident Neville Varnham, who is part of the group, said it was looking to either rent or buy a strip of land and estimated the cost of the project to be between £250,000 to £400,000 to construct.