A BIKE share scheme recently-announced in Bournemouth has been called “ill-thought-through” by a councillor.

Last month the council, working together with Borough of Poole, revealed plans for a ‘Boris bike' style sharing scheme with 1,000 bikes. Residents would unlock the vehicles using a smartphone app and they would be tracked using GPS, removing the need for docking stations.

The scheme would be run by a company on an initial one-year contract, with the requirement that it shoulder the costs.

Cllr Nick Rose, who has previously drawn the ire of colleagues for criticising council schemes, said the proposal was “ill-thought-through, and it hasn’t even been to scrutiny yet”.

He said: “What about existing businesses who already rent out bikes around the town? Why is the council now trying to compete against our own residents?”

Cllr Rose also expressed concern about the system for storing the bikes.

“These bikes will end up being left around the town being a nuisance. They will end up being propped against the front of shops, and getting kicked over and lying in the pavement.

“Who is going to go around picking them up?”

His colleague Cllr Nigel Hedges, former chamber of trade president and council ‘business champion’, said he and several colleagues had raised several concerns with Cllr Greenea after hearing about the scheme, but he said these fears had been “assuaged”.

“I’m told that all the repairs and relocation will be carried out by the company,” he said.

“The bikes have to be activated by the app and won’t work otherwise, and they can be tracked.

“I think it is wonderful if we can bring in a scheme which chimes with our green aspirations and it won’t cost the council anything.”

He said the scheme would be “complimentary” with existing bike businesses in the town, encouraging cycling and providing infrastructure.

Back in April Cllr Mike Greene, cabinet member for transport, had said the app-based service would provide “a flexible and sustainable service” for residents.