Richmond community bike park gets go-ahead

Planners have given the go-ahead for a new free-to-use community bike park in Richmond.

Approval for the track on fields off Green Howards Road was given by members of North Yorkshire Council’s Richmond area planning committee.

The decision means a network of graded bike trails suitable for beginners through to more advanced riders can be built. The park on the edge of the town would be accessed from Whashton Road or Green Howards Road. The track would straddle two conservation areas and would be visible from Richmond Castle.

Council planning officers said the development would cause some harm to the heritage of the town. But councillors agreed that any harm would be outweighed by the benefits to the local community and voted unanimously to back the bike park.

The park is the idea of local mother-of-three Louise Raine, who told the meeting she decided to act after having to travel 45 minutes to find a suitable park for her children to use. She added: “Because Richmond has no safe and purpose-built space at the moment, kids are riding on the pavements, in car parks and at Richmond School, where there’s fencing going up currently, which will put that out of bounds as well.
“I started having conversations with the community and this was a snowball effect. I got so much positive feedback from families, from local children, from parents, and then from the town council, local groups, organisations and businesses.”

The speaker said she could “not thank enough” members of the local community who had offered their help to get the scheme off the ground.

Richmond division councillor Stuart Parsons praised Ms Raine for doing a “magnificent job” in getting the community behind the scheme.
Councillor Clive World, from Richmond Town Council, also spoke in favour of the scheme at the meeting. He said: “We are unanimous in supporting this application and delighted that the officers have also recommended granting it. “This is a tremendous opportunity as there are no similar facilities within approximately 35 miles. “Backing for this scheme has been overwhelming. There have been concerns about parking. To overcome any problems, the existing car park on Whashton Road will be extended by 15 spaces.”

An aerial view of the bike park's location on the edge of Richmond submitted with the planning application.

The meeting heard there had been 71 representations from local people. Sixty people had written in support of the plans with many saying the trail would provide a much-needed facility for for young people and an opportunity for them to take part in a healthy pursuit.

Residents also said the scheme would support Richmond’s cycling heritage. Ten objections were received, with concerns including pedestrian safety on Whashton Road, the capacity of the car parks potentially leading to indiscriminate car parking and the risk of anti-social behaviour from users.