Day: July 22, 2013

A new cycling hub at Brighton railway station was approved by Brighton & Hove’s planning committee today on Wednesday, July 17.

The three storey building will provide shower and changing facilities, a bike shop, café, cycle repair outlet and bike hire, as well as storage for 500 bikes, making it the most comprehensive facility for cyclists in the city and one of the best in the region.

Approximately 170 spaces will also remain around the rest of the station resulting in a total of 670 spaces for bikes, an increase of over 420

Cyclists will use a turnstile system at ground level accessed by a key card. Toilets, showers, changing rooms, bike hire and repair, bike shop and café with an outside terrace will be on the first floor, with further café space on the lower ground floor. Although the building will be three storeys, from the station concourse it will look like two storeys because of the steeply sloping site.

The cycle parking will be open 24 hours a day and the facility will be free at point of entry.

Another advantage of the scheme is the proposal to create an additional public space with landscaping.

The not-for-profit scheme is supported by the Department for Transport (£500,000), Southern Rail (£100,000), Network Rail (£200,000) and Brighton & Hove City Council (£100,000 through transport funding). Funding for the landscaped area is expected to come from the Brighton Station Gateway project.

The 2011 census showed that cycling to work in Brighton & Hove has more than doubled in the last 10 years (118% increase).

Data collected at various points around the city show on average an 11% rise in daily cycle journeys across the city from 2009 to 2012.

Councillor Ian Davey, lead councillor for transport, said:

“We’re so excited at the prospect of this facility which will be of enormous benefit to cyclists arriving to and from the station. It’s going to be a great incentive for more people to try cycling, whether they are travelling for business or visiting for pleasure. It will also encourage people to combine different types of travel, combining the bike with the train.

“I would like to thank all the partners for making this happen and I’m particularly pleased that this will be a new resource for the public at the city’s main station which thousands of people use every year.”

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative MP for Hove and Portslade, and Patron of Autism Sussex, has signed a Parliamentary Motion which calls on the Government to review legislation surrounding disability hate crime in order to address the disturbing levels of abuse against people with Autism.

Mike has signed Early Day Motion (EDM) 172 (Hate Crime Against Those With Autism), which draws attention to the findings of a National Autistic Society survey that highlights how much of a problem hate crimes are for people with Autism. The EDM has received cross-party support in Parliament.

Mike said:

“It is encouraging that this campaign has received significant backing, both in Parliament and in the media. This must, therefore, be followed up with practical reforms in the way that these hate crimes are recorded and how they are treated under the law. There is no doubt about it that people who engage in these campaigns of hate – putting their victims through an absolute nightmare – are pernicious bullies that must be stopped.

EDM 172 – Hate Crime Against Those With Autism, reads:

That this House congratulates Kevin Healey, an Ambassador for the National Autistic Society, who has been helping to raise awareness of hate crime, including cyber-bullying, trolling, stalking and physical bullying, against those suffering with autism through a highly successful Twitter campaign and a Global Anti-Bullying Autism Campaign; notes that the campaign has received the backing of celebrities such as Ricky Gervais, Katie Price and Melanie Sykes; further notes concern at the findings of a National Autistic Society survey that revealed 81 per cent of respondents having experience of verbal abuse, while 47 per cent reported that they have been victims of a physical assault, and that 24 per cent had been victims of cyber-bullying; and finally, calls on the Government to review urgently legislation and police recording of disability hate crime in order that victims can be confident that their suffering will be taken seriously and ended.