A new community cycling facility is coming to Wythenshawe Park

Work has started on the development of the Cycle Hub, which will see the creation of a traffic-free cycle facility for all the family, including a learn to ride area, skills zone, pump track, woodland trails, and family trail.  

The £1.55million investment in the park’s infrastructure has been made possible following a successful application by Manchester City Council to the Places 2 Ride Fund.   

The hub will be a family-friendly space based around the existing athletics track area of the park.

It will be a safe space for both new and seasoned riders to develop their skills and confidence in a traffic-free environment.  

Wythenshawe Cycling Hub will be free to access, and the public will be able to book cycling lessons with trained instructors for beginners, intermediate and advanced cyclists. 

The new facilities will create opportunities for existing on-site partnerships such as Simply Cycling and Nacro to extend their offer to the community.  

In tandem with this, the investment aims to motivate more Mancunians to learn how to cycle, to choose cycling as their mode of transport and, encourage people to take advantage of the increasing number of cycle routes in and around the city.  

Work is well underway in the park – the hub began development in late 2021, after a public consultation found that over 1,800 people supported the scheme, the facility is on track to open in Summer 2022.  

Wythenshawe Park has received an award offer of £500k from the Places to Ride programme (which is being delivered through a partnership of British Cycling, MCR Active, Sport England and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS).

This funding has been matched by the City Council through the Parks Development Programme to develop the chosen area of the park into a Cycle Hub and improve the surrounding facilities.  

“This is a brilliant investment from both Manchester City Council and Sport England, via the Places to Ride programme,” said Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar.

“Parks and public spaces are important for local communities and the development of this cycle hub is a great scheme.     

“The council are dedicated to encouraging more cycling in and around the city.

“The Wythenshawe Cycling Hub is a good starting point to get more people on their bikes and to help people improve their confidence in a safe area.  

“We hope that cyclists of all abilities and ages enjoy the park and the facilities available – I can’t wait to go down!”  

The investment is the latest phase of a wider ambition to improve the sports facilities in the park.

It builds on the investment previously made to improve the tennis facilities and, will complement the work officers are exploring to secure investment to improve sports pitches, changing and the athletics track.

This will ensure that the sports zone of the park is completely modernised over the next five years.