Less than £10 per head will be spent on cycling and walking in Worcestershire despite road congestion being one of the main priorities for residents.

As well as a call by a Worcestershire County council committee for County Hall’s budget next year to set aside £5.6 million for cycle provision, a motion raised by Green and Lib Dem councillors asked the Conservative cabinet to commit to spending that amount on cycling and walking, as a minimum, with an aim to increase that to £20 per head.

But that idea was rejected by the cabinet - partly because it said it was very nearly spending that amount in this year’s budget anyway - but also because it has other priorities.

Councillors Matthew Jenkins and Liz Tucker put the motion to the cabinet.

Cllr Jenkins said: “We want to emphasise the importance of walking and cycling. Cars get most attention, but in Worcester, you can’t build any more roads, there’s no room.

“Ringroads might help, but the council’s own statistics show that most traffic comes into and out of the city, so they won’t help that much.”

Cabinet member for Highways, Councillor Alan Amos said that the council had already nearly doubled its spending on walking and cycling over the last four years.

He said: “Our spending on walking and cycling next year will be just under £9 per head and four years ago it was £4.68 a head, so we have been increasing spending on it.”

Next year’s budget will see £5.05 million spent on pavements and footways, public rights of way and cycling and walking provision – working out at £8.92 per head of the county’s population.

Cllr Amos added: “We listen to the people of Worcestershire and one of their main concerns is road congestion. Only two per cent of people cycle. So my main priority is increasing road capacity.

“And I’m not going to spend money just to meet an arbitrary figure without knowing what the need is.”

Cllr Jenkins said afterward: “Councillor Amos said his priority is road congestion, but in Worcester certainly there’s no more space for roads. And surveys show that many people would like to cycle or cycle more but are worried about traffic and the danger. Making it easier for the people who want to, and can, to get out of their cars and to walk or cycle has to be part of the solution.”