- Area:
- Wales
- Release date:
- 5 3 2008
A brand new cycling facility in Cardiff for people with disabilities is due to be launched by the Lord Mayor of the Welsh capital this week after undergoing a £300,000 transformation courtesy of the Big Lottery Fund.
On Friday March 7 the Rt Hon Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Councillor Gill Bird will visit the Pedal Power project in Pontcanna Caravan Park to officially open the new facility, which was funded through the Big Lottery Fund’s Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) programme.
The new centre, which is now the best-equipped accessible cycling centre in Wales, grants cycling access for all disabled groups and also provides an area for cyclists to socialise, share ideas and gain information and advice on healthy living and environmental issues. Cycling is a low impact form of exercise and the project allows users to improve their skills, health, fitness and self-esteem.
Prior to the grant from the Big Lottery Fund, a lack of storage facilities meant that the group could not purchase additional specialist cycles and the service was unable to expand to help more people with disabilities. However, the funding has enabled the project to erect a new building, which provides an enlarged storage area for an increased number and variety of specialised bikes. From Mountain bikes to tagalongs, children’s bikes, trailers, bikes that are hand operated to bikes that can be operated by the back and neck, there is an opportunity for everybody to cycle. The project now has over 40 accessible bikes, enabling up to 100 people per week of all ages and abilities to cycle.
Looking forward to the opening, the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Councillor Gill Bird, said: "Cardiff is proud to have this resource available, making cycling accessible to people of all ages and abilities. This facility is an excellent example of what can be achieved through partnership working."
Delighted with the new and improved centre, the Chair of Pedal Power, John Young, said: “Pedal Power is working to encourage more groups to ‘give cycling a go and get out into the countryside and get fit’. The award from the Big Lottery Fund has paid for our long hoped for and much needed specialised building. The Board of Trustees and members are all thrilled and delighted and most grateful to the Fund for their generosity and their recognition of what the Pedal Power Project continues to offer for the social inclusion, health and recreational pleasure of our cyclists. I would like to thank all the funders and supporters who are helping to make the Charity a success.”
Open seven days a week, the centre is situated in the heart of Cardiff at Pontcanna Caravan Park and has direct access to the traffic free parkland of Cardiff and also the long distance Taff Trail.
Volunteers are an integral part of the Charity, and without them, the centre could not open. There are 48 regular volunteers, and another 25 that are called upon for special events. Courses to develop cycling skills or learn to ride a bike can be arranged and the charity is already running two group rides a week.
The centre was funded through the Big Lottery Fund’s VCS programme which distributed more than £5.2 million to projects throughout Wales.
Commenting on the positive impact the award will have on the lives of people with disabilities, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee Member, Janet Reed, said: “This is a wonderful resource for the community and for anyone who would like to come and experience the project. It’s great to be able to fund projects that make such a difference to the lives of many people in communities across Wales. Groups such as this one are making huge strides in helping people and I’m delighted that this award will help them continue to do so for years to come.”
To find out more about interview, photo and filming opportunities, contact Oswyn Hughes at the BIG press office using the details below.
Further information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760 171 431
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102 030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.
Notes to Editors
- In Wales, the Big Lottery Fund is rolling out close to £1 million a week in Lottery good cause money, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across Wales most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
- The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to Good Causes. As a result, over £20 billion has now been raised and more than 250,000 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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