BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Leicestershire brewer Everards plans to open a "cycle centre" at its planned new HQ near the car-centric Fosse Park mall on the outskirts of Leicester. As well as a new brewery, restaurant, cafe and cycle centre there will new links to the area’s existing cycleways. The Leicester Mercury reports that the £30m development will sit on land between Soar Valley Way dual-carriageway (and its wide cycleway) and the county police headquarters at Enderby.
As I reported in The Guardian yesterday, Leicester is becoming more cycle friendly (although it still has a long way to go) and Everards’ plans for a cycle centre and cycleways at its new HQ meshes with the city’s long-term goals.
The brewer’s planning application includes plans to open up meadows between the development and the River Soar, creating cycleways and footpaths.
The restaurant, kiosks and cycle centre would be run by businesses independent of Everards.
Architect Matt Branton, partner at Franklin Ellis, said the plans for "Everards Meadows" would include creating new cycle infrastructure:
"One of the critical things we are [planning] is putting in footpaths and cycleways through the green space, and a new footbridge across the River Soar which connects to an existing bridge over the canal and the existing cycle route."
Pending planning agreement, the new cycle-friendly brewery would be open by summer 2017.
