Cyclopark

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Cyclopark is a purpose-built facility for cycling and other outdoor activities, located on the south side of Gravesend, north Kent in south-east England, adjacent to the A2 dual carriageway.

Cycling riding a bicycle

Cycling, also called biking or bicycling, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bikers", or less commonly, as "bicyclists". Apart from two-wheeled bicycles, "cycling" also includes the riding of unicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, recumbent and similar human-powered vehicles (HPVs).

Kent County of England

Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south west. The county also shares borders with Essex along the estuary of the River Thames, and with the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. The county town is Maidstone.

England Country in north-west Europe, part of the United Kingdom

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north-northwest. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

Contents

History

The site of Cyclopark is on the old re-routed A2 road near Gravesend. The redundant A2 route between Pepperhill (suburb of Gravesend) and Marling Cross (near Cobham) was developed into a safe pedestrian, cycle and equestrian route, which also passes Cyclopark, linking it to National Cycle Route 1. [1]

Cobham, Kent village in Kent

Cobham is a village and civil parish in the Gravesham District of Kent, England. It is located south of Watling Street, the old road from Dover to London, six miles south-east of Gravesend. The hamlet of Sole Street lies within the parish, which covers an area of 1,240 ha and has a population of 1,328., increasing to 1,469 at the 2011 census.

National Cycle Route 1 route of the National Cycle Network in the UK

National Cycle Route 1 is a route of the National Cycle Network, running from Dover to Shetland. The 1,695-mile-long (2,728 km) cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom.

Construction of Cyclopark began in January 2011 and took approximately 10 months, with the site opened officially in early 2012. [2] Funding was provided by Kent County Council, Sport England, the Colyer-Fergusson Trust, British Cycling and the Homes and Communities Agency. It is situated in the area covered by the Thames Gateway development plan.

Kent County Council British administrative authority

Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors. The chief executive and chief officers are responsible for the day-to-day running of the council. Paul Carter is the leader of the council. Kent County Council is currently controlled by the Conservative Party and the official opposition is the Liberal Democrats with 7 seats. It is one of the largest local authorities in England in terms of population served and the largest local authority of its type.

Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded partners, to grow the number of people doing sport; sustain participation levels; and help more talented people from all diverse backgrounds excel by identifying them early, nurturing them, and helping them move up to the elite level.

British Cycling

British Cycling is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Britain at the world body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and selects national teams, including the Great Britain (GB) Cycling Team for races in Britain and abroad. As of 2015, it has a total membership of 116,644.

Early test events included the Southern Area BMX Championships (15-16 October 2011), [3] and a visit from the US Olympic BMX team.

In 2014, it was on the shortlist for the 2014 Kent Design Awards. [4]

These awards were created to celebrate design excellence in Kent and were first staged in 2003 and are usually held every two years. They were then renamed 'Kent Design and Development Awards' in 2012. Then have stayed as the 'Kent Design and Development Awards' in 2014.

Facilities

In 43 ha of landscaped parkland, the Cyclopark facilities include:

Hectare metric unit of area

The hectare is an SI accepted metric system unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides, or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is about 0.405 hectare and one hectare contains about 2.47 acres.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ http://www.skanska.co.uk/Global/About%20Skanska/Sustainability/March%202010/A2,%20UK%20Sustainability%20Case%20Study.pdf
  2. ↑ Big New Cycling Centre for Kent, Bike Radar, 21 December 2010, http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/big-new-cycling-centre-for-kent-28742
  3. ↑ Southern Area BMX Championships http://www.cyclopark.com/16/section.aspx/13/South_East_Championships
  4. ↑ Britcher, Chris (28 September 2014). "Architects hope grand designs build on community benefits". Kent on Sunday. Kent.

Coordinates: 51°25′08″N0°21′07″E / 51.419°N 0.352°E / 51.419; 0.352


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