The leader of Three Rivers council has hit out at the county council over a six-month delay to the arrival of the Beryl Bikes scheme in Croxley.

Plans to expand the scheme to Croxley were announced back in February but are yet to materialise six months on.

Council leader Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst(Liberal Democrat, Leavesden) has laid the blame at the feet of Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), describing the situation as "bureaucracy gone mad."

He said: "When we  announced the deal in February to bring the Beryl Bike trail to  five bases on Croxley, something I had campaigned for over three years then secured council funding for, we were assured that it would all be ok to go ahead by April.

"However little did we know that bureaucracy and delays put in our way by Herts County Council would stop this."

He claims that after agreeing the sites in advance, the scheme has been plagued by "delay after delay" due to "excuse after excuse" from the county council.

He added: "It's hardly a big deal after all they have licence agreements for Watford and Hertsmere already!

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: “We are very supportive of this scheme, which will make cycling an easier and more attractive option for local residents, and we are working hard to support Three Rivers District Council with the implementation.

"We received the final designs in the last few weeks for the three sites that are on public highways and can confirm that the necessary licences have been produced.”

"It seems the different parts of county hall just cannot get their acts together and do not speak to each other."

The scheme already exists in Watford, with plans being unveiled earlier this week that could see it expanded to bring e-scooters to residents.

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A task group is being set up at Watford Borough Council to examine the pros and cons of adding electric scooters to the existing bike hire scheme, which has seen over 347,000 journeys since it was set up in 2020.

But Cllr Giles-Medhurst has expressed scepticism that the scheme will ever see the light of day in Croxley, saying: "I will only believe it when I can pick up a Beryl Bike from a Croxley stand and ride it. 

"Frankly HCC has let  us and Croxley residents down big time."

It is hoped that the scheme will go live in October, with pavement licenses set to be approved.

Hertfordshire County Council has been approached for comment.