I was disappointed to read Oxford city council leader Bob Price’s comments regarding a lack of Cycling strategy (Oxford Mail, December 17).

On one hand I can sympathise with Mr Price as he sees many abandoned bikes around the centre of Oxford that detract from both the beautiful image of the city and the appearance of any co-ordinated effort that may put off potential developers.

Yet, despite this, as was recorded in your own newspaper, the county council has given money to the city council to increase the number of sweeps, yet we still see abandoned bikes in Oxford.

On top of that, Mr Price knows well that the city can legally guarantee the development of schemes it feels are suitable.

As such, I call on Mr Price, under the powers of Section 106 of the Local Government Act (cash from developers for public schemes) to put forward a proposal for a a secure underground cycling hub along with possible space for a workshop as part of the redevelopment of the Westgate site.

This was an opportunity originally missed.

The precedent for such a scheme has already been set in Cambridge, and it is a great shame that one of our rivals is leaving us lagging behind, especially given the number of cyclists in and around Oxford.

I would be happy to meet Mr Price to discuss this further but, in the meantime, call on the city council to guarantee the cycle hub through the planning process that Oxford so desperately needs.

Councillor Arash Fatemian, Oxfordshire County Council Cycling Champion, Oxford