Cycling Scotland has worked in partnership with social housing providers across Scotland to deliver new facilities to help break down barriers to cycling. Read how having somewhere safe, secure and convenient to store a bike is helping to transform lives across the country.
Queens Cross Housing Association, Glasgow
Queens Cross Housing Association has used funding from Glasgow City Council and Cycling Scotland to install five separate secure, weatherproof storage facilities, which provide parking for 96 bikes over recent years.
Their latest cycle-storage facility is their largest yet, providing secure storage for 40 cycles.
The stand-alone structure is in a central, street-lit location, close to people’s homes, with motion sensor lighting inside.
Jamie Ballantine, Social Regeneration Manager at Queens Cross Housing Association, said: "Staff and residents alike have often told us how the lack of cycle storage is a barrier to bicycle ownership and active travel."
"Our new cycle stores were in regular use from day one, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with all spaces now booked. Some residents have even said that they have been able to buy a bike for the first time, now they have somewhere to store it."
"The stores have removed a barrier: residents no longer have to carry bikes upstairs or store them in their flats. On-site secure cycle parking makes choosing to cycle an easier option for residents, and it also makes it easier for people to own and store bicycles for their children."
Ferguslie Park Housing Association, Paisley
Ferguslie Park Housing Association, a community-based social housing provider in Paisley applied to the Social Housing Fund, to build a cycling hub that could house a local community cycling project called Own Yer Bike.
Own Yer Bike project provides a free service to children and young adults within the community, teaching basic bike maintenance skills. They also distribute free bikes that have been reclaimed from scrap, encouraging use of bikes in and around the social housing, as well as encouraging active travel to and from the local areas.
Marc Small, Chairperson and founder of Own Yer Bike, said: "The additional space has allowed us to respond to community needs, particularly during the pandemic, and expand our services. It’s resulted in more people cycling, more people learning how to look after their bike and more people volunteering their time to support their community. We’ve also prevented a huge number of bikes going to landfill by repairing them, and recycling them."
Hjatland Housing Association, Shetland
Hjaltland Housing Association is a community-based social housing provider, providing over 800 homes in the Shetland Isles. In 2019, they received funding from the Social Housing Fund to make it easier for residents to walk, wheel and cycle.
Prior to receiving funding, the Hjaltland Housing Association regularly had to ask residents to remove bikes, pushchairs, prams and scooters from the communal areas. Blocking corridors and access points, this equipment was a fire hazard and residents had flagged that this was an issue.
Hjaltland was successful in receiving £25,000 from the Social Housing Fund for two sites, one in Scalloway, a village on the west of the main island, and the other between Scalloway and the main town of Lerwick. Both projects were based in SIMD 4 quintiles and, together, they would provide storage space for over 150 residents to benefit from.
The funding covered the purchase, groundworks and installation of a mix of wheel and bike stores and were completed using a local specialist provider.
The wheel stores are now on-site and a combined bike and walking aid store has been constructed from dead space within a residence in another site. The remaining bike stores have been delivered to four further sites and groundworks completed. Those sites completed are in regular use. One double ended bike store was relocated to another site as a result of an architect incorporating storage within a currently under construction venue.
The stores have been well received and are used regularly: close and flat areas are now clear whilst enabling residents to store bikes, prams and mobility aids safely and securely.
A resident living in the Anderson Buildings in Scalloway said: "The bike store has made such a difference. I used to have nowhere to store my bike and had to take it a flight of stairs into my flat where it took up space in my hallway."
Elderpark Housing Association, Glasgow
In 2018, Elderpark Housing Association secured £25,000 to install secure cycle parking for the 2,700 residents living across their properties in Govan, Glasgow, through Cycling Scotland's Social Housing Partnership Fund.
The new facilities have given people a secure place to store their bikes and provided an opportunity for many parents to purchase a bike to cycle with their children.
Jim Fraser, Estate Management Inspector at Elderpark Housing Association, says that the funding has helped to improve the lives of tenants: “Govan is well established as an area of high deprivation in Glasgow, and residents can often be found to have low household income and higher levels of household debt. This can impact greatly on people’s ability to access public transport beyond a limited geographical area and frequency due to a lack of money."
One young mother shared that having the secure bike storage has made a huge difference. Previously, she kept their bikes in her third floor flat and could only take her kids to the park when her partner was home to help carry the bikes downstairs. Now, she has been able to buy her own bike as there is somewhere safe and easily accessible to store it, and can take her children to the park whenever they want.
Robert Smith Court, Cowdenbeath
In 2018, a small group of residents from Robert Smith Court in Lumphinnans, Fife came together to organise maintenance of the communal space surrounding their social housing. With a desire to make the area safe and welcoming for residents, the Robert Smith Community Group soon grew to 250 members.
In an area that they described as run down and often subject to anti-social behaviour, the community group did their best with the resources they had available to improve the attractiveness of the communal space. Despite being nearby to several green spaces, there were no facilities to encourage local people to walk or cycle, and in general residents weren’t sure how to access these areas.
Through the Social Housing Partnership Fund, the Robert Smith Court Community Group received £9,960 to install a covered bike shelter, garden furniture, and noticeboards to create a community garden. Regenerating the unused communal land, the community group successfully created a friendly and welcoming hub for residents.
Alongside the new cycling facilities, noticeboards and social media are being used to promote the local network of walking and cycling routes - giving people access to information on nearby beauty spots in Lumphinnan and Lochore Meadows and encouraging them to get outdoors.
Before the communal space was regenerated, it was rare to see a bike around Robert Smith Court – due to poor storage facilities, bike theft was a worry for residents. Now, with the increased trust and sense of belonging built up in the community alongside security measures such as CCTV, more and more residents are taking up cycling for everyday journeys.
