A beginner's guide to getting a bike shelter
Installing a new bike shelter can feel overwhelming and you might have lots of questions.
As part of their Community Support project with us, St Margaret’s Centre, a vibrant community centre in Chorlton, were able to install a brand-new secure bike shelter to enable more visitors to choose to leave their car at home.
To help you get started, St Margaret’s have shared their experience of installing a bike shelter below.
Who supplied your bike shelter?
“We would highly recommend using a reputable company and there are a number of places that can help with this. We used a company called Broxap who we found to be reliable and professional.
These companies can help you with the purchase of your bike shelter and provide guidance throughout the process, including answering any questions you might have, help with measuring the space and providing dimensions, advice regarding the foundation of the shelter and providing health and safety documentation for the installation.”
Is there anything I should know before I get started?
“A good thing to know is that the shelter will need a base to sit on which should be factored into your budget. We found using a local trades person for this to be much more cost-effective.
The base will need to be larger than the shelter itself. In our case, Broxap provided the dimensions required and spoke directly to our trades person to offer advice and information.”
It’s also really important to determine if you need planning permission before installing your bike shelter and ensuring you have permission from the landowner if applicable. Visit the Manchester City Council website to check if you need planning permission and find further guidance.
How did you know which type of bike shelter to buy?
“There are lots of different bike shelter designs to choose from – they come in a variety of different colours, sizes and levels of security. We would advise you have a look at all the options and choose the one best suited to your budget and space.
Due to the nature of our project, we chose a shelter with high security and coverage that could house 12 bikes. Our aim was to be able to have some bikes that the local community could borrow, so we wanted somewhere really safe and dry to lock them overnight.”
How much did it cost?
“It’s good to be aware that there are lots of hidden costs to consider, including the cost of the bike racks, installation, carriage and VAT.
To give you an idea of cost; our bike shelter, with all the additional security, cost £10,778.40. The base cost an additional £2,000 with installation.”
How to secure funding for your bike shelter
There are lots of different grants available which can help you fund all or part of your bike shelter. Why not check out some of the below:
Mobility Foundation - Active Travel Grant Programme: Active Travel Grant Programme | Charitable Grants | Motability Foundation
Manchester City Council Scheme Activation funding: Apply for Scheme Activation funding | Scheme Activation grant funding | Manchester City Council
Sport England - The Movement Fund: The Movement Fund | Manchester Community Central
GM Moving – Greater Manchester Walking and Wheeling Fund: GM Walking and Wheeling Fund | Manchester Community Central
Allen Lane Foundation: Allen Lane Foundation | Manchester Community Central
Manchester Active - European Capital of Cycling Grant Scheme: Manchester Active European Capital of Cycling Grant Scheme Survey (surveymonkey.com)
Other useful links:
Find your local bike library: Bike libraries | TfGM Bee Active
Get a refurbished bike: Get a bike - Access to bikes | TfGM Bee Active
Top tips to support your application
Whilst funders will come with their own sets of criteria, we suggest the below information is really useful to include in your application:
The 2022 Update to the Manchester Climate Change Framework stated that road vehicles contributed to 24% of Manchester’s direct emissions. Did you know, we’ve created a carbon footprint for every ward in Manchester – why not take a close look at how your area is doing in terms of car use for short journeys and public transport accessibility to include in your funding bid? Find your local carbon footprint here: www.inournature.uk/our-carbon-footprints.
Keep a travel diary, here’s a really simple example of what we developed with St Margaret’s Centre to support with monitoring and evaluation and capturing carbon saving data:
Demonstrate the need: can you collect any insights about how people are getting to you currently and if a lack of cycling facilities is a barrier? Funders love to see evidence like this, and it will also help down the line for monitoring behaviour change once your lovely new bike shelter is installed!
“We are really happy with our beautiful bike shelter. We are pleased it has given the people who already ride somewhere safe to keep their bikes. During the opening celebration of our new bike shelter, 57% of event attendees told us that they’re more likely to cycle to the centre now that there is a bike shelter. And we believe it will encourage many more people to ride to the centre!”
