Bike library scheme comes to Halifax

Launched as a legacy of the Tour de France and Tour de Yorkshire, the project, which is sponsored by Yorkshire Bank, aims to give every child in Yorkshire access to a bike and will open a new library at the Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre on Hopwood Lane on June 25.

The project sees unwanted bikes donated at one of the county’s 42 Donation Stations, where they are then fixed up and available to hire free of charge.

Since the launch of the first Yorkshire Bank Bike Library last year, more than 13,300 chances to ride a bike have been offered to children and around 3,500 bikes have been donated.

Helen Page, Propositions and Marketing Director at Yorkshire Bank, said: “We are delighted to support the set-up of additional Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries across the county. Giving more children an opportunity to have access to a bike is something we feel passionately about.”

The new Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries will be set up using a third round of enterprise funding. The first two rounds of funding helped existing groups to expand and attracted new volunteers who have set up cycle coaching, maintenance and safety classes at their local community centres and schools.

Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “We launched the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries with the aim of giving every child in Yorkshire access to a bike, and the opening of these new Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries will help to bring us ever closer to that goal.

“I am thrilled to see how successful the Bike Libraries have become since the very first one opened in Leeds last year, and I hope they will continue to inspire and excite young people across the county.”

For more information visit bikelibraries.yorkshire.com.