Hoppers BikeHub Aviva Community Fund

Date: 31 October 2016

The club has applied to the Aviva Community Fund in the hope of securing funds to enable the club to become a hub for the northern part of the Guild Wheel. The Aviva Community Fund allocates funding based on votes from the community so we need your help to get the Hoppers BikeHub project funded!

To vote please visit the link below, setup an account and cast your votes (each user has 10 votes to allocate and we’d appreciate them all!)

https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/voting/project/view/16-1707

The prime purpose of this project is to create a cyclists’ hub for the northern end of the Preston Guild Wheel. The Preston Guild Wheel is an extremely popular 21 mile cycling and walking circuit of Preston (http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/cycling/guild-wheel/about.aspx) used by an estimated 100,000 cyclists of all abilities per annum.

Preston Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club (Hoppers) is located adjacent to the north end of the Guild Wheel and this project would provide both specific bike related facilities to cyclists on the Guild Wheel and give cyclists access to Hoppers’ other facilities. An ancillary benefit would be to make the Hoppers more welcoming to existing users, the number of whom is forecast to rise rapidly with the current installation by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) of an Artificial Grass Pitch (AGP).

The idea behind the Hoppers Bike Hub is to offer cyclists all they might need to enhance their enjoyment of the Guild Wheel. This will include:
• Free parking for those wanting to start their circuit at the Hoppers
• Free access to Hoppers toilet facilities
• Free use of tools to get cyclists who have encountered punctures or other problems back on the Guild Wheel
• Free refills of water bidons
• Food and drink
• Shower and Changing facilities at nominal cost

Current parking facilities around the Guild Wheel are limited and generally cannot offer toilet facilities desirable on a two to five hour trip. Commercial bike shops are available but are off route and not geared up for the quick fix that is usually necessary when something works loose on your bike or you suffer a puncture. They also tend to operate 9 to 5 and not always on the ever popular Sunday. The Hoppers Bike Hub would be open from 8 in the morning to 10 at night to provide free use of basic tools such as Allen keys, spanners, tyre levers and the all important pump to rectify the little problems that could otherwise ruin a day’s ride. A limited stock of inner tubes and other essentials would also be held but it is not intended to set up a commercial business. Rather the aim is to help cyclists encountering minor problems to sort them out and finish their ride.

Soft drinks, hot drinks and chocolate bars for energy are available at all times from vending machines. The licensed bar is open from 4 pm every day and is open to the public. For families with children there is a play area where kids can use up any energy left after the Guild Wheel while their parents have some well earned refreshment.

Due to the way the club has been extended over the years the entrance at present is on to corridors and unless the bar is open visitors can struggle to find anyone to help them at first. To ensure cyclists and other visitors will be welcomed as soon as they walk in the door and their requirements can be sorted out it will be necessary to open up an existing room which adjoins the manned offices and is also on the entrance corridor so it can become a manned reception area. It is presently a self-contained shop only used on match days and Sunday mornings.

A space will also need to be created where cyclists can work on their bikes and signage from the Guild Wheel to the Hoppers entrance will be required.

Hoppers has evolved over the 40 years it has been at the present ground from a pure rugby club to a multi sports and social club. On the rugby side with its 6 senior men’s and 2 senior ladies teams there is a thriving mini and junior section of over 350 boys and girls. Other sports on offer are:
• Squash with 3 courts
• Two Archery clubs catering for both modern and longbow enthusiasts
• Rifle Shooting on a purpose built range
• Cricket with an artificial strip and opening next year a newly developed turf square
• Ballroom dancing 3 nights a week
• A cycling section with regular rides both around the Guild Wheel and further afield

Besides our own use of the facilities they are regularly hired out to other clubs and organisations.

Vote for the Hoppers BikeHub now by clicking the link below, setting up an account and casting your votes.

https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/voting/project/view/16-1707

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