A MEMBER of the bus users’ group campaigning for a permanent bus station in the town, poured scorn on the cycle plans. Tim Oxton said: “We have got enough cycle paths – the Crouch Street path says it all really, a waste of money. I have nothing against cyclists, but we don’t need more bike paths. “We are in tough times. At Abbots Activity Centre the council is going to downgrade the level of service, it is flogging off Tymperleys, closing perfectly good sheltered housing at Joyce Brooks House and Abbeygate House. It is scandalous what it is doing, but there is yet more cash for this?” He added: “Even talk of section 106 agreements, where community facilities are funded by developers, being used to finance cycle paths is totally trivial and not relevant to what Colchester needs.” The Gazette recently revealed the Cycle Town project had fallen far short of its goal to increase by 75 per cent the number of people Cycling in the town. Figures showed some areas, including Westway in the town centre, had seen an increase in cyclists between 2007 and 2010. However, other areas had seen little change and elsewhere, most notably on one stretch of the Wivenhoe Trail, numbers had decreased. Organisers insist the investment has helped create a lasting cycling legacy for Colchester. The town’s MP Bob Russell said: “I would need to see all the pieces of the jigsaw on the table before I can comment fully’’. He added: “The more involved the council can be with the Colchester Cycling Campaign the better.”