Cllr Ian Boulton, chairman of South Gloucestershire Council, cuts the ribbon to officially open Warmley Wheelers
The Warmley Wheelers project at the old railway station was officially launched yesterday (Wednesday 2nd April).
The project is being led by a learning disabilities group from the Staple Hill-based charity the Milestones Trust so that people with disabilities can learn how to cycle along the Bristol & Bath Railway Path.
The bikes will initially be used by Milestones and by the nearby Warmley Park School for children with special needs but it is hoped that in a few months they will be available for hire to the general public.
Funding for the project came from the Department of Transport’s Local Sustainable Travel Fund for Communities. The fund is administered in South Gloucestershire through TravelWest in partnership with the sustainable transport charity Sustrans.
South Gloucestershire Council has resurfaced the station platform near the Warmley Waiting Room café and changed the access so it is easier for wheelchairs and people with mobility problems to use it.
There is a new public picnic area by the platform and a secure storage area with adapted bicycles for children and adults with disabilities.
Local artist Andy Council decorated the container that will hold the new fleet of adapted bikes for people with disabilities, with Warmley Park pupils helped with the design.
The bikes will be stored here
Christine Hill, from Milestones, said: “The project will promote independence, not only because it is being run by people with learning disabilities, but because people can become confident cyclists.”
Last September the old Grade II listed Warmley Signal Box nearby reopened after a refurbishment. It is now available for hire for community and business events and parties and the Milestones Trust plan to use it for group activities.
