Dales Bike Centre Picks Up Environment Award

Newly opened Dales Bike Centre in the Yorkshire Dales National Park last week picked up the Yorkshire Post’s 2009 Environment Award for building projects under £1million. The centre based in Fremington, Swaledale is a dedicated cyclist facility comprising of accommodation, cafe, bike hire, bike retail and repairworkshop.

The judges obviously were impressed by the centre’s green credentials which include ground source heating system, water recycling bike wash, bio-disc mini treatment plant, heat exchange kitchen ventilation system as well as every other area of the business being managed to limit waste, energy usage and environmental impact.

Owners Stuart and Brenda Price picked up the award at a ceremony in Leeds. Stuart said “we are really pleased that the centre is being recognised for its green credentials. From the earliest stages of the project it was always our intention to minimise energy usage and make use of new technologies. We would like to thank Yorkshire Forward and it’s Rural Enterprise Investment Programme and the Yorkshire Dales National Park’s Sustainable Development Fund for part funding of the whole project. Without their funding assistance we would never have got this project off the ground” Brenda added “It was quite an achievement just to be shortlisted but to pick up the award is fantastic. Feedback since opening has been excellent, the cafe and our cakes are getting plenty of praise from cyclists calling in and the accommodation is going down very well with cyclists staying with us, already we are gaining a lot of repeat business”.

www.dalesbikecentre.co.uk or tel 01748 884908

Ben Haworth

Orange Switch 6er. Stif Squatcher. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan. Ebikes are not evil. I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld. Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

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