Richmond Bike Park is set to provide a safe space for riders of all abilities to get out on their bikes now that a major hurdle has been cleared.
A brand-new bike park has received approval in Richmond, North Yorkshire after a local mum’s year-long campaign to get plans off the ground. Louise Raine from Richmond decided to take matters into her own hands when she was fed up of driving 45 minutes to take her kids somewhere safer to ride. She took inspiration from the success of the Devil’s Toenail bike park in Wetherby, which was opened a few years ago and has garnered plenty of popularity.
Richmond currently has no purpose-built areas for riding bikes, and Raine even said that the lack of options for local youths is leading them to riding on pavements, car parks and at Richmond School – although there is fencing going up to put this out of bounds. North Yorkshire council approved the plans for the bike park which will be situated on a four-acre plot near the Green Howards Trading Estate.
Raine has been working with the community for a year to get the plans off the ground
What are the plans for Richmond Bike Park?
The plans for the park will be put into two phases of construction – all of which will be done by volunteers. Plans suggest there will be green, blue and red tracks being built, with several features including rock gardens, rock steps, skinny log features and rollers.
The plans also show areas of gravel drainage, new trees to be planted and pollinator habitats to minimise the environmental impact the new park will have.
Raines said to the planning committee in August, that she “would not be willing to drive this project forward on my own or take sole responsibility…if the community wasn’t behind it.”
Thankfully for Raines and anyone who wants a bike park in the area, the community has largely backed the project with only some concerns over parking being raised.
“Because North Yorkshire is such a beautiful place and so is this land, we don’t want to build over it, we want to enhance it,” Raine continued in her statement to the planning committee. By this, the plan is use to natural materials to create the trails, as well as enhancing people’s “connection with nature” by keeping it as much of a green space as possible.
The plans show the layout of the trails, with several features to be included
How did the park get permission and how will it be funded?
Raines and the team were offered the plot of land by Zetland Estates, but due to the size of it (4-acres), the planning process wasn’t as straightforward as Raine had hoped. As the plans were classed as a major application, it meant there was an incredible amount of information needed to be produced. Something she says was “over the top” for the type of project.
Things like flooding technical data, even though the land is on a hill and the surface won’t be changed that much, became an issue that dragged the process on, with Raine saying there were times she almost gave up with the application, “due to the onerous nature of the information.”
Richmond Bike Park hopes to rise from the grass.
Thankfully, though, it seems the local community and councillors are behind the plans, and the planning officers did as much as they could to help guide Raine and the team through the process. And now, plans have been approved and the first phase of development can begin.
Beyond the trails, parking has also been considered, with the council agreeing to extend the existing car park on Whashton Road to accommodate for more traffic.
The goal is to build the entire park with community volunteers to minimise labour costs, leaving only materials to require funding. The team is looking for help whether it be volunteer hours to help with the building and dig days, or financial support to help towards materials and machines. More information can be found on the Richmond Bike Park website.