Free city centre bike store to close

A cycling charity has said it is "gutted" by the closure of a bike store, intended to reduce bicycle thefts in Worcester city centre.

Bike Worcester said the free facility in Friary Walk shopping centre - formerly Crowngate - has been used to securely store 28,000 bikes a year.

The space, which has now been leased to a rent-paying customer, will close on Wednesday, four years after it opened.

Dan Brothwell, from the charity, said it was "as good a place to lock our bikes as we've found anywhere in the world".

Mr Brothwell paid tribute to the shopping centre's manager for making the facility available to cyclists for free.

"Bike Worcester were approached by Mike Lloyd in the depths of Covid with an idea of making an unused commercial unit available as a place for people to store bikes," he said.

"It would be under the watchful eyes of CCTV with the security team regularly checking in. It was a no-brainer."

Mr Lloyd said the centre had been "incredibly proud" of the role it had played in "encouraging more sustainable travel", adding it "was the right thing to do during a difficult time for the city".

"Now, as we celebrate a full return to occupancy at Friary Walk - a real milestone for the local economy - we must transition the unit back into retail use," he said.

The store also included a repair station for people to carry out minor services of their bikes.

Mr Brothwell said any bikes which were found unlocked would be secured, along with details on how to get it released - for which Mr Brothwell himself admitted to having been grateful on occasions when he had been distracted and forgotten to lock his own bike.

"It is with a heavy heart we say farewell to the Friary Walk bike store," he said. "We've used it to store our bikes, fix our bikes, and help others fix their bikes.

"It's been instrumental in growing Bike Worcester."

Mr Lloyd said Friary Walk was "committed to supporting active travel" and was working to install external bike racks.

He added that the stands and racks from the bike store were being donated to the city council for potential relocation.

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