South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 04/04/2014

The new community group, called the Warmley Wheelers, offers specially adapted loan bicycles for people with disabilities.

The cycle group is based at Warmley Station, an old railway station on the Bristol Bath Railway Path. Along with the adapted bicycles and accessories, there is also a secure bicycle storage unit for the Wheelers that has been decorated by local artist Andy Council. Students from nearby Warmley Park School worked with Andy on the storage unit’s design and also designed the Warmley Wheelers logo.

South Gloucestershire Council owns the land and platform, and have transformed a piece of derelict ground that was previously used for grazing goats into an accessible public picnic area. The old station stop also features a new accessible platform, tactile paving and a gently sloping path with a rest point.

The adapted bicycles will initially be used by Warmley Park School, who plan to integrate cycling in to their PE curriculum, and the Milestones Trust’s Stepping Forward project for adults with learning disabilities. The bicycles will be made available for hire to the general public in the future, with The Milestones Trust’s service users running the project.

Chairman of South Gloucestershire Council Cllr Ian Boulton said: “The Bristol Bath Railway Path is a really valuable asset in South Gloucestershire, and to enable everyone to use it is really important.

“It was great to see the Warmley Wheelers project officially launched today and to meet with members of the Milestones Trust, many of whom will help to run the new cycling facilities. These specially adapted bicycles will provide their users with both independence and exercise.”

The adapted bicycles and station improvements are thanks to £50,000 of funding through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) and were delivered in partnership with Sustrans.