A council which has slashed £300,000 from its education budget was under fire last night for offering to fork out £100 a time to teach adults to ride bikes.
The local authority in Argyll and Bute will pick up the tab for the training courses – and says the scheme will encourage people to cut their car use and take more exercise.
But the project has already been branded an “unnecessary luxury” amid accusations the council has got its priorities wrong.
Adults who decide to get on their bikes and take part in the iCycle+ programme will be taught how to get on and off safely, start and stop, steer and maintain forward momentum.
They will also learn how to cycle one-handed while signalling, looking behind, the correct use of gears, basic bike maintenance and preparing for a journey.
Using these new skills, cyclists will try out different routes in their community, becoming confident in dealing with tricky junctions and traffic lights. The course will also identify safe and enjoyable cycle routes.
But councillor James Robb – who is a keen cyclist – said the decision to spend £20,000 on the scheme seemed odd when the local authority was facing a major spending squeeze.
He said: “While it is difficult to criticise, it seems a strange sense of priority when you consider that this council took £300,000 out of the education budget.
“That severely hampered head teachers’ ability to meet the needs of pupils.
“And when there are such massive, painful cuts that will need to be taken down the road in 2016.”
The move was also criticised by pressure group and think tank the Taxpayers’ Alliance.
A spokesman said: “When finances are so stretched, spending thousands on a glorified cycling proficiency course looks like an unnecessary luxury.
“Taxpayers won’t be thrilled to know that the council is ignoring the old adage that you never forget how to ride a bike.
“There are plenty of other cheaper ways to encourage people on to bikes where it’s practical.”
But an Argyll and Bute Council spokesman defended the plan last night.
He said: “It is costing £20,000 over two financial years. It is paid for by the council, but generates £20,000 match funding from Sustrans for a construction project.”
And the local authority’s policy lead for education, Councillor Aileen Morton, added: “The £300,000 Councillor Robb is talking about is part of the 1% efficiency savings across all services.
“I think the cycle training is a reasonable use of money. It is the kind of decision that will need to be taken going forward. We have much greater cuts coming in the future.
“In terms of encouraging people to get out of their cars and make better use of the environment, I think it is a reasonable use of money. We live in an outstanding area in terms of the environment.”
The iCycle+ initiative is, according, to the council aimed at returning and commuter cyclists, helping them enjoy their bikes more, become confident in traffic, learn bike maintenance skills, meet other returning cyclists and improving their health and fitness.
The idea is a follow-on from a previous initiative called iCycle to teach children cycling skills.
This proved very popular and, as a result, the council decided to extend the scheme to adults.
A drop-in information event is planned at Lochgilphead Joint Campus on Tuesday, March 31 where people can sign up to the training programme.