E-bikes are routinely left in the street [Simon Lamrock]

THE council’s “surprisingly aggressive” crackdown on e-bikes was called into question by a Tory councillor, who warned that it could backfire.

Lancaster Gate’s Laila Cunningham said plans to force a company to change its business model so that bikes and scooters are not left anywhere could lead to the wider public to resent them.

Westminster is negotiating with the Lime bike company about a new system where riders would have to park the bikes in designated areas or face tougher financial penalties.

Westminster City Council is also demanding the company employs more staff to pick up and redistribute any bikes that are not parked in designated spaces.

Cllr Cunningham told a scrutiny meeting: “As a councillor, no one has ever complained to me about it. I am just wondering if this is quite a niche problem?

“Will the wider public resent us for removing a service that has made everyone’s lives easier?

“You guys [Labour] should be all for it. I am surprised there is such an aggressive attitude.” She added: “You are removing a vital element of their business model.

“You don’t want to stifle innovation.”

The council is locked in a dispute with Lime after regular complaints about e-bikes obstructing pavements.

The firm has committed to a “geo-fencing” system stopping riders going into some areas of the West End.

A series of holding pens is expected to be set up across the borough, mainly in resident parking spaces and some on pavements.

Neighbouring Camden Council has this system in place, but it has not stopped the problem with the bikes being left all over the place and blocking pavements.

Lime has accepted that it has encountered a problem with the bikes’ power system being disabled, allowing them to be ridden for free and dumped without any fine being imposed.

Westminster’s cabinet member for city management and air quality Paul Dimoldenberg told the meeting: “At the moment it is a free for all.

“If they want us to spend a lot of money in setting up infrastructure Westminster-wide for their business, we have got to see evidence of them investing in their business in terms of managing it. I am going to be quite tough on that.”

He said the plans were for roughly 280 bays to be set up in Westminster, adding: “We want it to succeed without inconveniencing a substantial number of people. There’s no compromise on that.”

Abbey Road ward Cllr Alan Mendoza said: “In my ward there is one particularly difficult junction, where there is very limited parking spaces and six big apartment blocks.

“I know if we take any more away, there will be murders because people will say there are hundreds of us here and you are taking more away.”

A Lime statement said: “We’re committed to working closely with local councils and organisations to ensure our service is as safe as possible, and we recently worked to introduce increased fines for inconsiderate parking in the Soho and Covent Garden areas, starting at £10.”