A cycle hub next to Tonbridge railway station is near completion- part of a drive to make the town more bike-friendly.

The building will provide spaces for 272 bikes for commuters as well as specialist pumps and councillors hope it will encourage people to get out of their cars and start pedaling.

Network Rail secured planning permission in March 2018 and the hub is nearly finished. It is expected to open this year.

There were already a small number of bike spaces for station users.

Last month, it was announced a blanket 20mph speed limit will be introduced across the town from mid-September.

The new restriction will be put in place initially as a temporary measure, to see if the reduction in the limit increases cycling and walking journeys in the town.

It is also hoped that the scheme, which is being funded by the Department for Transport’s Emergency Active Travel Fund in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, will reduce congestion and air pollution caused by trips around town made by car.

The new speed limit will be monitored and Kent County Council (KCC) will consult the community before deciding to make the change permanent.

Cllr Michael Payne and Richard Long, who represent Tonbridge at KCC visited the new cycle hub, and gave it their approval.

Cllr Payne, cabinet member for highways and transport at KCC, who also welcomed the speed limit, having campaigned for safer roads, said: “Having such a modern cycle hub right next to Tonbridge station, built by Southeastern at this time, will hopefully encourage more people to use their bikes in Tonbridge. I look forward to it opening and I am sure it will be popular."

Cllr Long said: “The cycle hub will help encourage more people to travel to and from the station without the need to get in their car, knowing they can leave their bike safely."

Speaking more generally about transport in the town, Cllr Long, who has represented Tonbridge since 2013, said: "Cllr Payne and I have been conscious for a while that Tonbridge is terribly crowded and suffers from congestion.

"Anything we can do to help relieve congestion and pollution in the atmosphere, and at least encourage people who want to travel more sustainably, to give them that opportunity would be good."

Asked whether more cyclists in Tonbridge will be a lasting legacy of the pandemic, Cllr Long said: "I think it's something that was going to happen anyway.

"The technology was already there but the pandemic has sped it up.

'Cycling is not just for the Lycra-man, it's for everybody...'

"I have seen more people on bicycles and that's certainly something we want to encourage, but we haven't forgotten about motorists. If we can, without causing more problems than we solve, encourage more people to walk and cycle then that's a good thing."

"Cycling is not just for the Lycra-man, it's for everybody."

As well as bike racks and tyre pumps at the cycle hub, there will also be a refreshment area for Southeastern staff.

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