The council's decision is the latest twist in a seven-year controversy dating back to the creation of the £5-million Cornish Way network of trails for cyclists, walkers and horse riders.
Until now, cyclists have been officially banned from the 300-metre long Newlyn Green footpath and are meant to use an adjoining 30mph road linking Newlyn and Wherrytown.
To the dismay of the Living Streets group and elderly walkers who feel threatened by cyclists on the green, councillors have acted on what they perceive to be the majority view.
After 48 letters of objection were lodged against the Newlyn Green ban on cyclists, compared to four letters of support, the council began a major consultation exercise.
About 3,700 forms were sent out to people in Newlyn and Penzance and almost 2,000 responses were received. Only a quarter of those were in favour of allowing walkers and cyclists to share Newlyn Green path, without any segregation between them. Almost 60 per-cent favoured giving up a one-metre wide strip of the Green to widen the path to give walkers and cyclists separate lanes. Only 13 per-cent supported a continued ban on cyclists from the Newlyn Green path.
The validity of that consultation, and the alleged inaccuracy and bias of its wording, have been questioned by Living Streets. After complaining to the Local Government Ombudsman, Living Streets has been successful in its quest to get cyclists banned from using the Penzance Promenade pavement on the other side of Wherrytown.
The council's social, economic and environment committee, keen to promote "a safe environment for both cyclists and pedestrians" have now voted 6-2 to allow the shared use of the Newlyn Green path, but not to carry out any segregation works in order not to incur any extra costs.
Andrew Tait of Porthcurno, Living Streets spokesman and himself a keen cyclist says the council's decision is totally unacceptable.
He said: "We feel they have been intimidated and bumped into this by the cycling lobby and it will mean pedestrians, especially pensioners, will not dare to walk along the Newlyn Green path because they will feel threatened . I expect this committee resolution to be challenged not just within the council but in the courts and elsewhere."
The committee's chairman, Hudson Smith said: "The number of incidents on this path has not been overwhelming. The consultation showed that more than 80 per-cent wanted cyclists to be allowed to make use of the Newlyn Green path."
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