Brighton Station to have £850k ‘cycle hub’

Hundreds more cyclists will be able to park at Brighton Station if an £850,000 “cycle hub” is given planning permission.

Transport Minister Norman Baker said today (Wednesday 30 January) that the government would provide £550,000 of the funding.

The money will come from the Department for Transport’s Cycle-Rail initiative.

The train operator Southern, which is behind the scheme, said that Brighton and Hove City Council and Network Rail would also chip in.

The plan is for a two-storey building behind Brighton Station to include a cycle hire and repair shop, café, lockers, showers and toilets.

Norman Baker

Up to 500 parking spaces will mean about 220 extra cyclists can leave their bikes there.

Southern intends the area to be both secure and free for train passengers.

If the council gives planning permission, work is expected to begin early in the summer and the extra cycle parking should be available by the end of the year.

The shop and café are expected to take until the following spring to complete.

Mr Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, said: “We want to make cycling a genuine and viable option for everybody.

“That is why the government has provided £550,000 to fund this innovative one-stop shop for cyclists.

“I have no doubt this new cycle hub will make it easier and more convenient for people in Brighton to cycle and travel by train which together will help to reduce carbon emissions and ease congestion.”

Paul Best, Southern’s project manager, said: “We are delighted that along with our partners, we will be able to deliver a superb cycle facility for our passengers using the station.

“This has been a long time coming and, with the additional spaces, we expect cycles chained to fences to be a thing of the past, which is good news for everyone.”

Southern said that 280 bike parking spaces would be taken out at the back of the station but the 40 at the front and 30 in the multi-storey car park would be kept.