Children at Beaconhill Primary School were surprised with a visit from a local bike charity, with 17 of the youngster’s bikes fixed by the charity whilst they were busy in lessons.
Two mechanics from North East based charity Recyke y’Bike attended to the bikes in the school shed, belonging to the students that had cycled into school on that day. The visit was organised by Barratt Developments North East, with its Cramlington development, West Meadows at the Arcot Estate located close to the school. This activity follows the housebuilder’s recent donation of £1,500 from its monthly Community Fund initiative to Recyke y’Bike.
Jack Swain and Ryan Collins got to work pumping up tyres, adjusting and replacing brake and gear cables, as well as replacing worn pedals. Between the two of them, they fixed 17 bikes in just three hours, ensuring that all the youngster’s bikes were safe for use ahead of the summer holidays.
Based in the North East, Recyke y’Bike refurbishes donated bikes to sell them at affordable prices in order to fund its charitable objectives to give away hundreds of bikes to disadvantaged individuals and deliver free bike maintenance workshops to different groups of people. With two shops in Newcastle and Chester-le-Street, the charity also aims to improve sustainability by repairing unwanted bikes that would otherwise go to landfill, promoting bicycle re-use and encouraging cycling as the most environmentally friendly mode of transport.
Barratt Developments, which is also building Sycamore Grove in Newcastle close to Recyke y’Bike’s shop, donates £1,500 a month to different charities across the North East as part of its Community Fund. The housebuilder’s initiative aims to support charities and community organisations helping those in need living close to its developments.
Joel Routledge, Headteacher at Beaconhill Primary School said: “We were delighted that Jack and Ryan from Recyke y’Bike were able to check and fix all the bikes from today. We have an impressive number of children that cycle to school, who will also no doubt be using their bikes more during the summer holidays. We are very lucky that Cramlington is so well connected by cycle paths and we’re thankful to Barratt Developments for organising this great surprise for the children and encouraging them to get out on their bikes.”
Jack Swain, General Manager at Recyke y’Bike commented: “We’re thrilled with our achievement here at Beaconhill Primary School. Ryan and I set ourselves the challenge of repairing all the bikes in the shed in three hours, which we’re pleased we were able to complete. A lot of tyres have been pumped and we hope the children are happy with their bike MOTs. We’re really grateful to Barratt Developments for its generous donation, which will be put towards new parts washers for our refurbished bikes.”
Ashlea Wright, Sales Manager at the housebuilder’s Cramlington development, West Meadows at the Arcot Estate, added: “Cycling is a brilliant activity that gets children outside and active and we’re so pleased Recyke y’Bike helped us bring joy to the pupils at Beaconhill Primary School. The charity does incredible work to help reach more people in disadvantaged communities across the North East and transfer essential bike maintenance skills to ensure more people can have access to cycling. We hope the £1,500 donation helps and the children are pleased with their fixed bikes. A huge thank you to Jack’s team at Recyke y’Bike for helping us.”
Barratt Developments North East, which includes the Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes brands, is building a collection of high quality new homes including dual branded West Meadows at the Arcot Estate in Cramlington by Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes and Barratt Homes’ Sycamore Grove in Newcastle.
