Huntly Bikery: "Hands down, by a country mile, the best project and the best people"
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HUNTLY'S "brilliant" community bike shop marked months of success at its official opening event.
Dozens attended the event at Gordon Street's Bikery, which saw Deputy Lord Lieutenant Lady Joanna Aberdeen cut a ribbon and offer the Gordon Rural Action (GRA) team her "huge congratulations".
Based in the old Sinclair's Bakery building, the social enterprise also gives Bikery Fowk volunteers the chance to become bike maintenance experts and gain qualifications.
Pupils from The Gordon Schools have already taken up the volunteering offer.
GRA chief officer Emma Selway Grant said the Bikery "fits in perfectly" with existing GRA services with a strong recycling and reuse aspect, including the Bargain Box, Baby Bank and Uniform Exchange.
"We are just really proud of it," Ms Selway Grant said.
"This is the culmination of our team's 18 months of work – and they have managed to achieve so much within our community."
Many of Huntly's major community figures were present at the launch including, among others, representatives from the Huntly Development Trust, Networks of Wellbeing and The Gordon Schools.
The town's three local councillors, Gwyneth Petrie, Jeff Goodall and Lauren Knight, also attended along with Gordon MP Richard Thompson.
"It's great to be here to support this wonderful project," Cllr Knight said.
"Everybody is so enthusiastic about it and there is so much going on – it's just fantastic.
"It unites everybody and it is a great project."
The event heard that around 12,000 bikes go into landfill each year, in Aberdeenshire alone, with many being repairable.
Aiming to slash that figure, the Bikery also provides free or low-cost bikes for budding north east cyclists who cannot afford a new bike.
Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action provided a grant to help establish the project.
And funding and design support was provided by Nestrans, the regional transport partnership for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.
The Bikery is part of the organisation's Cycle Hub scheme.
"This is fantastic," Jon Barron, active travel development officer at Nestrans, said.
"Hands down, by a country mile, the best project and the best people I have been involved with in my Nestrans time.
"And, it's strange to say in a room surrounded by bikes, but it isn't about bikes. It is about people.
"Especially those people would love to cycle but can't get a bike, because we can now offer them free or lower cost bikes.
"Having first come here with the building as a shell, and now seeing the volunteers and young guys coming through their Velotech training – getting their qualifications – it's really, really great.
"And we are just getting started."
Cllr Petrie, chairperson of the Huntly Town Team, said the "very successful" Bikery had already brought about "real change".
"I'm delighted to see another Huntly shop open that will provide a new service and many benefits," she said.
"Also it's great to have something come into this key town centre space which was not available in Huntly before.
"Now, instead of having to go to Inverurie or Elgin, it's right here."
Considering the "brilliant" new project in the context of Huntly's wider regeneration work, Councillor Jeff Goodall said "enthusiasm and hard graft" is what makes Huntly special.
"The Bikery is part of Huntly's regeneration, one of a range of projects which will get Huntly back in shape," he said.
"And which will totally change the shape of Huntly.
"In comparison to other towns, it is amazing how enthusiasm and hard graft have come together to get this project over the line.
"It is great to see the difference between what it was and what it is now."
Gordon MP Richard Thompson said it was "amazing to see" the GRA service hit a new milestone.
"There is always something special about hitting the milestones," he said.
"I feel great happiness and satisfaction at this, especially given the hard work which I know has gone into it.
"And the importance and benefits for Huntly are absolutely fundamental.
"I would like to congratulate everyone involved in bringing it to fruition."
Despite having just celebrated the official launch, the Bikery team are dead set on moving the project forward.
GRA fundraising and retail support manager Laura McNeil said the charity hopes to buy the old bakery building, so the next stage of renovation can begin.
Expected to be finished by March next year, future plans include improved social space for volunteers.
Funding from the Macrobert Trust has also been secured to help fund the improvements, and the charity is currently looking for ways to raise the remaining cash.
"It has been an 18 month journey to get here, but we have more that we want to do," she said.
"The next step for us right now is to get to the point that we can buy this building.
"If we can get the funding, we can complete the repairs and get the building totally operational."
A custom Bikery cake was prepared for the launch event by Huntly firm Misha's Bakes.
