Parents and children from a White City primary school are getting on their bikes after receiving a £10,000 grant.
The cash boost to Ark Burlington Danes in Du Cane Road, will encourage more parents and children to cycle to school. It will also help create a ‘library’ of bikes for adults and children (including child cycle seats) so those at the school, and the wider community, can borrow cycles for exercise and leisure.
It follows a survey at the school which showed that more than half of parents have never cycled their children to and from classes.
Confidence
Famida Pathan, who chairs the school’s parent teacher association, said it was a confidence issue. “The cycle library aims to open up cycling to parents and enable a substantially larger group to cycle for transport, exercise and leisure.”
The ‘library’ at the school will lend free bikes and seats during half-terms from April-October, backed by cycle training from Bikeworks. New cycling families will be paired up with existing cycling families to support cycling to school together, plus family cycle rides open to all.
The scheme has been welcomed by Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for the Environment. “It’s through projects like this that we can help get more people cycling, make our streets safer and our air better to breathe,” he said. “I hope many more people will be cycling as a result.”
Grant
The grant is from Transport for London in partnership with the London Marathon Charitable Trust and Groundwork London.
The programme of walking and cycling grants in London has awarded more than £1million in grants since the scheme started in 2015.
For more details, visit the Burlington Danes Family Cycle Library website.
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