This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Kids get to cycle thanks to a second-hand bike scheme
02/06/2021
Initiative to get bicycles to children nominated by schools starts next week
Children in north Oxfordshire who don’t currently have a bike may soon be able to ride off in style thanks to an innovative second-hand bicycle scheme.
The project is being run by Cherwell District Council in partnership with Community Action Group, Bicester Green. Local schools will be able to nominate pupils most in need to receive a free serviced bicycle.
The FAST bike scheme is being run by the same team who created the Bikes for Key Workers project, offering free bicycles to NHS staff in Cherwell. It will operate under a similar system, by collecting used bikes from the public, refurbishing them by a professional mechanic, then handing them on to a child in need.
Community Action Group, Bicester Green, will be responsible for servicing the bicycles once they’ve been offered to the programme.
Celia Cornforth, centre manager at Bicester Green, said: “During the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve seen a surge in families wanting to cycle more. Through our Dr Bike scheme, supported by Cherwell District Council and Cycling UK, we already help people to get back on their bikes by offering a free maintenance service. But some families just can’t afford the initial cost and this programme will help them experience the joy of cycling.”
Councillor Phil Chapman, Cherwell District Council’s Lead Member for Leisure and Sport, said: “We know cycling is excellent for both physical and mental wellbeing, but it’s also great fun. Children can grow out of their bicycles very quickly and they’ve often still got a lot of life left in them. Being able to save these bikes from landfill by giving them to another youngster is great for the environment and even better news for the new owner!”
The FAST bike programme will launch after half term, with bicycles beginning to be collected from Monday 7 June. Anyone able to donate a child’s bike, or any school wanting to nominate a youngster, should email FASTbikes@cherwell-dc.gov.uk.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam