Setting up a Delapré cycling and walking hub
Published November 23, 2023
What we did
In April 2022, West Northamptonshire Council received funding to explore the feasibility of establishing and Cycling and Walking Social Prescription Hub at Delapré Abbey. To explore the feasibility of establishing the Hub, we provided an online survey to ask for ideas from local residents, which was completed by 305 people. We also monitored the use of key footpaths throughout Delapré Park and asked path users about the purpose of their visit.
What we found
The majority of survey respondents were likely to visit the new Hub and would mostly like individual (non-supervised) activities. If people wanted to hire a bicycle, the majority wanted a standard mountain bike and suggested being charged at an hourly rate. 75% of respondents preferred to have signposts around the park to help them navigate the routes.
Visitors tended to use the footpaths between 07:00 and 19:00 during Spring, with the highest number of park visitors occurring over the weekend. Notably, use of the footpaths declined significantly in Winter.
Public opinions on the current quality of pathways at Delapré Park were mixed, with most responses reporting they were ‘Neutral’ (43.7%) on rating the currently quality of pathways.
Those that responded pathways were ‘Good’ or ‘Very good’ were asked to provide open text responses expanding on this. Key themes drawn from the responses (n=91) were that they are well maintained, fit into the natural surroundings and are easy to follow/navigate.
Those that responded pathways were ‘Bad’ or ‘Very bad’ were also asked to provide open-text responses expanding on this. Key themes drawn from the responses (n=46) were that paths get muddy and inaccessible in wet weather, limited paths for wheelchair users and pushchairs, and limited signage.
”Multiple walkways which are overly used… Muddy, boggy and trying to avoid them means trampling down flora and fauna.
”I often walk with friends who have children, and it's difficult to push buggies along a large portion of the walkways.
”There needs to be more money spent on the park pathways to keep up with the increase of use.
What happens now
West Northamptonshire Council and Delapré Abbey successfully secured funding from Active Travel England to upgrade the key footpaths and signposts within Delapré Park. The paths and signposts should be upgraded in 2024 with community input. Working with Delapré Bike Doctor, and Space 2 Talk, Delapré Abbey now offer bicycle hire, training, and a second-hand bicycle shop. They’ve used your ideas from the original survey to design the Cycling and Walking Hub offer.
Delapré Bike Doctor
Further Information
The research articles and supporting anonymised data can be publicly accessed below.
Evaluation Report Delapré Cycling and Walking Social Prescription – Baseline Phase (report)