THE apparent scuppering of £200,000 funding to make a 1.1km stretch of towpath is seemingly a classic case of bureaucratic dogma defeating common sense.

Earlier this year it was announced Sustrans had agreed to pay £200,000 to have the section of the Oxford Canal towpath upgraded.

However, now it emerges that is off the table because the towpath itself is 20cm too narrow.

To give you some context, 20cm is the exact distance between the Our View heading above to the bottom of this opinion column.

Now, Sustrans will quite rightly say it has minimums for these paths for valid safety reasons and much of this route cannot be widened because of water voles and physical impediments.

But what Sustrans – largely funded by the public through various streams and which touts itself as allowing “smarter travel choices” – needs to consider is what happens now?

Is it a smarter choice, to abandon the scheme completely? To let the towpath further degenerate to the point where it is used by fewer people and, of those who do cycle or walk it, face more hazards?

There are times when these organisations have to recognise the situation is less than ideal and choose the option that makes the best of a bad bunch.