E-scooters could pose a danger on a proposed new cycle path in Great Hollands, councillors have warned.

The plans for a joint footway and cycle path on South Road were given the go-ahead at a Bracknell Forest planning committee last week.

But councillors questioned whether e-scooters and bikes would also be allowed on the path, and whether this would put pedestrians at risk.

Councillor Dorothy Hayes told the meeting: “I’m in agreement with anything that encourages young persons to get to school not by car, therefore allowing no problems around the schools of parking.”

But she added: “It does concern me that these scooters will be used on that area. Young persons are very into these scooters and know how to make them faster.” She asked if signs could be put up to stop their use.

Highways and transport officer Andy Wells replied that e-scooters are only legally permitted on private land, and should not be used on any public roads or paths.

READ MORE: New cycle path planned in Great Hollands, Bracknell

He said: “It’s a matter for the police to enforce that they shouldn’t be publicly used and if we start down the line of putting in signage, we’ll end up with signage everywhere without actually solving the problem.

“The problem as I see it is people are using things in areas that they’re not permitted to be used and that’s a matter for the police.”

Councillor Stephen O’Regan was concerned about the speed that cyclists could get up to on the shared path. He said: “It’s a long, straight piece, so cyclists could presumably get up to quite a nice speed. Have the safety considerations of that been taken into account?”

Mr Wells replied that pedestrians would have priority where the path narrows, and that there were places that cyclists would have to slow down. He said: “The scheme has been road safety audited and the signage is set out so that where there are sections where it’s narrowed there is appropriate signage to give pedestrian priority.

“There are a number of places at which cyclists will have to wait to cross accesses for example. So it’s not just one continuous straight length all the way down.”

Councillors voted unanimously to approve the path.

It will run from Nine Mile Ride at its southern end to West Road at the northern end. It will then connect to an existing foot and cycle path that runs alongside the east perimeter of the Downshire Golf course, from West Road to Easthampsted Park School.