Statement from the Trustees of Hardie Park

The Hardie Cycle Hub in Hardie Park was set up in the Summer of 2019 with a view to helping our community access affordable bikes. The vision was to train a young person to learn a valuable skill and deliver the service. At the same time, educating and informing our users regarding safe, affordable cycle use, maintenance and travel. We are pleased to say our mission has been accomplished.

We’ve had two and a half wonderful years of the Cycle Hub in the park at Hardie. In that time the project originally the brain child of Rob Groves and Richard Twomey has achieved so much despite the effects of the pandemic. A vision to train young people and inspire the local community to cycle more has most definitely been met over the last couple of years with the help of Cycle Hub Manager Matt Hill, our apprentice Ross Goodyear and volunteers. We have turned around and sold hundreds of donated bikes and serviced many for avid cyclists in the local area.

Looking ahead however, although the Hardie Cycle Hub project is ethically wonderful, as a business, having saturated the local 2nd hand market it is sadly not proving financially viable long term without consistent grants and applications for funding to keep it going.

In the outset, Ross Goodyear took on the challenge of cycle apprentice, secured a Cytech Level 2 qualification in bicycle maintenance and used his personable skills to deal with servicing and sales and impart his knowledge, including delivering workshops for local school children. Cytech is the internationally recognised training and accreditation scheme for bicycle technicians. His skills, both with bikes and communication have been noticed and Ross has been snapped up for a full-time role at an expanding local bike business.  We are so pleased for Ross, from apprentice to fully trained mechanic now on a career path doing something he loves.

To date, the Hardie Cycle team have promoted cycling to many audiences, they have visited schools and been involved in a range of funded schemes to keep NHS key workers on the road and more recently provided bikes for less fortunate funded by Active Essex. Matt Hill our Cycle Hub Manager has been key in delivering the message across local cycling communities, passionate about everything cycle related and overseeing the hub, the turnaround of donated bikes and servicing.

This small project has managed to employ 3 local people during its lifetime, an amazing statistic and one we are very proud of. However, it is with a heavy heart we have decided to wind down the hub. Our bike mechanic Ross leaves us on 8th April and there will be a period of time after that date that Matt Hill, Manager will bring the project to a close. It may be that we have a bike jumble date planned over the next month or so to clear the stock we are holding. Please watch our social media channels for final detail. You can find us at @hardiecyclehub on FB and instagram and @hardie0pb on twitter.

Thank you for your bike donations over the years and for your support of the cycle project. As we are sure you are aware, the staff team and volunteers work tirelessly to make the park the best it can be for the community. Should you have any questions regarding the park and its development you are very welcome to email our board of trustees on trustees@friendsofhardiepark.co.uk

The cafe in the park will be back soon offering the perfect pit stop for cyclists from Tuesday 19th April. Coffees, ice creams and toilets. In the meantime, we thank you for your custom!

Just one final request from the team!

PLEASE KEEP CYCLING!

 

Contact details: Hardie Park Cafe, Hardie Road, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. SS17 0PB Phone: Café direct – 07935 868835 Email: info@friendsofhardiepark.co.uk Twitter: www.twitter.com/LoveHardiePark Facebook: www.facebook.com/LoveHardiePark