Segregation - by wooden fence?

This small section of cycle track has been closed for months whilst contractors have been digging holes for some reason. Now the workforce has departed a wooden fence has appeared between the cycle track and the pavement.



Strangely a further fence has been built to block the route and force cycles into the road - a dual carriageway with heavy traffic. Notice how the cycle track has not been resurfaced at its original level.



So why on earth are these fences here? Are they a new infrastructure experiment or some idiotic idea hatched up by a rogue council officer or contractors trying to cut corners?



Or could this be a land ownership issue?



Answers on a postcard please...