Leicester Bike Park reopens after £200,000 refurbishment

A secure cycle parking facility in the centre of Leicester has been reopened under new management after a year-long refurbishment programme. The Bike Park, which is located beneath Leicester Town Hall, incorporates showers, lockers and a bike shop as well as parking spaces for 110 bikes.

The premises were refurbished at a cost of £200,000 jointly funded by the Department for Transport and Leicester City Council, which has awarded the lease to operate the facility to local bike shop, Future Cycles, whose directors also helped get the city’s first bike recycling scheme under way and provide cycle maintenance courses, among other things. They also plan to initiate a cycle hire scheme from the Bike Park.

Tim Hudson, Future Cycles director, commented: “We are extremely proud to be given the opportunity to manage Leicester’s Bike Park and we are very excited about its future.



“The refurbishment has helped create a fantastic facility and we are looking forward to welcoming even more people as they realise that bikes can be a cheap, healthy and fun way of getting into the city centre.”



Councillor Rory Palmer, Deputy City Mayor responsible for transport and climate change, added: “Leicester has seen the number of people cycling more than double in the last five years.

“We want to keep that growth going and a fully refurbished bike park, with Future Cycles at the helm, will help us achieve that goal.



“This is just one part of a wide range of activities and measures we have planned to encourage more people to choose sustainable transport.”



Smart card ticketing will be introduced at the bike park, which the council hopes will act as a central hub for everything bike-related in the East Midlands city.

The facility is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6.30pm, and on Saturdays from 8.30am to 6pm. Parking costs 50p for a hour or £1 for a day, with discounted weekly, monthly and annual passes also available.

Further information can be obtained on the council’s website or by calling the Bike Park on 0116 299 1234.