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Date: Phone: Email: |
alistair.mcnair@brighton-hove.gov.uk |
Dear Environment, Transport and Sustainability committee
We are disappointed to have to write this letter to you as we have campaigned to have the bikeshare scheme extended to Patcham & Hollingbury. However, we do have reservations about the location chosen, and are disappointed that despite raising these reservations with officers this site was still selected.
The site chosen would incur the loss of three parking spaces, a reduction of around 15% of the parking spaces in this key shopping and amenity location in Patcham. In the immediate vicinity, there are shops, restaurants, Patcham High School, and Patcham Methodist church many of whose users come by car and would now find it harder to find a parking space.
There is also a struggling community centre which has very limited parking spaces of its own, and has had to have significant help from the Council to survive. Many groups that meet there comprise elderly residents who are already struggling to find suitable parking. Some groups are struggling to survive, and while this may be for many reasons, the lack of parking does not help, and losing three spaces would undoubtedly exacerbate the issue.
While we welcome the encouragement of cycling, we doubt many worshippers at Patcham Methodist church will start cycling, and if you are intending to shop a bicycle will also not be especially practical. We feel that after more than a year of the pandemic, introducing a cycle hub at this location will not help struggling businesses. Patcham High and Patcham Junior School have extensive fields which are used for community events such as football games and fayres – parking facilities are necessary to transport children and equipment.
We feel that there are more suitable locations for the bikeshare hub, for example next to the bus stop opposite The Ladies Mile pub.
It is important to encourage cycling in Patcham & Hollingbury, and a bikeshare hub would go someway towards this. Cars and bikes should be able to co-exist without detriment to the other. We feel this should be possible with a little more planning.
We look forward to the committee recognising the need to pursue another site in the vicinity of this location.
Best wishes
Cllr Alistair McNair, Cllr Anne Meadows and Cllr Carol Theobald