Commercial in Confidence Prestwick Active Travel Hub Feasibility Study January 2017 PrestwickGirvan Active Travel Commercial in Confidence Hub Quality Management January 2017 Quality Management Job No CS/090734-03 Project Prestwick Active Travel Hub Location South Ayrshire Title Feasibility Study Document Ref File reference P:\Transport schemes\South Ayrshire Council\Active Travel Hub Feasibility Studies Date January 2017 Prepared by 1 Signature (for file) Checked by Signature (for file) Authorised by Signature (for file) Prestwick Active Travel Hub Commercial in Confidence January 2017 Contents Contents 1. Introduction 2 1.1 Commission 2 1.2 Background 2 2. Example Active Travel Hubs 3 2.1 Stirling Active Travel Hub 1 2.2 Stockton Active Travel Hub 2 2.3 Bristol Bike Shed 2 2.4 Kilmarnock Active Travel Hub 3 2.5 Newcastle Cycle Hub 3 3. Demand for an Active Travel Hub in Prestwick 4 3.1 Transport Data Analysis 4 3.2 Consultation 12 3.3 Needs / Demands for a Hub 14 3.4 Type / Nature of services required 18 4. Options for a Hub unit 20 4.1 Location 20 4.2 Type of Unit 23 5. Estimated costs and funding opportunities 24 5.1 Set up and Running costs for the Prestwick Hub 24 5.2 Funding opportunities 25 6. Conclusion 26 Appendices Appendix A - Consultation Survey Appendix B - South Ayrshire traffic data Appendix C - Hub Design Palettes i 1. Introduction 1.1 Commission The Ayrshire Roads Alliance (ARA) is currently investigating the potential to develop an Active Travel Hub in Prestwick, South Ayrshire. The proposal follows the recent development of Active Travel Hubs in Ayr and Kilmarnock aimed at encouraging walking and cycling in South and East Ayrshire. Capita is commissioned to undertake a feasibility study to investigate the potential for an Active Travel Hub in Prestwick. This report considers the background to Active Travel Hubs, reviews existing examples, the report then examines the potential need for an Active Travel Hub in Prestwick; and assesses the location and type of Hub that is likely to be required; and provides estimated costs and information regarding the most suitable funding opportunities. 1.2 Background Following the successful Cycle Hub scheme in Stirling, ARA in partnership with Sustrans Scotland and Paths for All are in the process of developing Active Travel Hubs based at Ayr Railway Station and Kilmarnock Railway Station. The vision of the Hubs is to ‘work towards a healthier, greener future by encouraging and supporting more people to travel actively’. Through the projects ARA aims to make communities healthier by changing travel habits and encouraging people to be more active. The hubs are working closely with the local community organising a range of events and workshops and providing led cycle rides, led walks and cycle maintenance sessions. ARA is investigating the potential expansion of its Hub projects in Prestwick and Girvan. This feasibility study considers the potential for an Active Travel Hub located in Prestwick in South Ayrshire. 2 2. Example Active Travel Hubs Active Travel Hubs have become a common development in towns and cities across the UK in recent years. They all operate to serve and encourage more walking and cycling, but Hub they come in many forms. These forms can be plotted in the triangular graph that Type represents the blend of their focus on either Chart Commuters and Utility cyclists, Leisure and Tourists, or they might have a charitable angle for achieving ‘whole community’ benefits of active travel. During this report, we deduce that the format of an active travel hub in the Prestwick area is likely to be plotted here ‘ ’, therefore, if we investigate the example hubs with a similar focus (listed below ‘’), we can learn from their existing format and analyse their best practice and lessons learnt. Stirling Leeds Stockton Bristol Whinlatter Kilmarmock Newcastle Ayr 3 At-a-Glance Comparisons of UK Hubs (those with a distinctly different focus to Prestwick are marked with an ‘’; others will be explored in more detail in the following section) 4 2.1 Stirling Active Travel Hub Funded by Transport Scotland in partnership with Scotrail, Stirling Cycle Hub was the first Hub of its kind to be developed in Scotland and provides a template to Cycle Hubs and Active Travel Hubs throughout the country. Established in 2013, The Scottish Government allocated up to £200,000 to Forth Environment Link over three financial years to set up and run the Rail Cycle Hub facility at Stirling station, as a three-year pilot project. The Cycle Hub aims to encourage and support people to cycle and promote the benefits of cycling for the individual and the community. Working in partnership with Sustrans; Cycle Stirling; Stirling Council; Creative Stirling; and The University of Stirling, the Hubs ethos and website has been established as a template to other Hubs in Scotland including the hubs at Ayr and Kilmarnock. Services include information and signposting to cycle services; secure cycle parking and lockers; detailed route planning with a hub team working with local communities to encourage and promote cycling; and running a range of events. The aims of the Hub are: To provide expert knowledge of cycle routes and support networks in & around Stirling. To encourage and support individuals and groups to regularly cycle as a healthy leisure activity. To encourage and support employers and employees to consider commuting by bike as an alternative to other forms of transport. To work in partnership with and to signpost to existing cycling providers. To work towards these aims both through running and maintaining a welcoming, professional space and by providing support and encouragement to communities and community groups. LESSONS FOR PRESTWICK o Success in securing funding o Ongoing engagement with community groups 1 2.2 Stockton Active Travel Hub This was the UK’s first active travel and cycle parking centre which opened in 2010 using Lottery funding. Council funding continues to allow its operation by Sustrans staff who use it as their Teeside office while providing a service to the community. They offer free information and advice on cycling and walking, guided rides and walks, and training courses on cycle maintenance and on road cycling. Their free cycling parking facility has no hourly limits. Free membership is currently offered to all. This entitles people to securely park their bikes from 07:30-17:30 each weekday (they would like to open on Saturday but staffing budgets are limited). They run free Dr Bike days for members, free half day bike maintenance courses, and chargeable full day courses. They have appx 1000 members. Outside of membership they offer a series of free guided rides and walks for residents, students and businesses; information and advice service (free maps, route planning, bike choice); bike buddies (matching people up on regular rides). Staff costs cover three members of staff, the building is owned by the Council and rented out at a minimal ‘peppercorn’ rate, on top of which are paid business rates, electricity and other utility bills. LESSONS FOR PRESTWICK o Securing an urban unit on a long-term low-cost lease o Engaging with the community and community groups 2.3 Bristol Bike Shed Bristol Bike Shed (AKA ‘Mud Dock’) is a bicycle lifestyle centre, offering a shop, cycle storage facility, bar and restaurant, as well as education and training. It opened in June 1994 as primarily a retail and catering company. The different services are complementary in helping to promote a cycling culture in the city. To use the storage facility, people can register as an individual or as a company – the Bike Shed is surrounded by new business premises in the regenerated docklands area of Bristol - If a company registers, it requests the number of lockers and spaces it needs and Mud Dock gives passes to the users. The mechanics from the shop also maintain and look after the bike shed and its clients. Future plans include a small bar with internet access for cyclists. This centre provides the only secure bike parking in the area, but the costs of services are considered high - year-round access to the showers is more expensive than some gym membership fees. Some users now complain about over-crowding (because they also store bikes that are waiting to be repaired, serviced, built, and also spare parts or stock in the bike shed), so some users wish the facility was bigger. When questioned, the owner suggested that the bike shed would not survive if it was a stand-alone facility (the cost for the space and to hire someone to be on site is considerable), but having a repair centre, retail shop and cafe allows Mud Dock to be a lucrative and thriving business. LESSONS FOR PRESTWICK o Exploring way of bringing in income to become self-sustaining o Securing a prime location for maximum footfall 2 2.4 Kilmarnock Active Travel Hub The Kilmarnock Active Travel Hub is also a Hub Scotland project match funded through the Paths for All, Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme with £114k of matched funding. Through establishing a relationship with the Kilmarnock Station Railway Heritage Trust, the Hub secured space within Kilmarnock Railway Station in 2016. The Active Travel Hub Kilmarnock project runs in parallel with the Ayr Hub, both projects being delivered under the Ayrshire Roads Alliance (the shared Council roads and transportation service across East and South Ayrshire). As with the Ayr Hub, an Active Travel Hubs Officer is also appointed in Kilmarnock to lead on setting up, maintaining and promoting the Hub. The role is supported by a number of Community Volunteers who are engaged in leading rides and walks across East Ayrshire.