Brompton Bike Hire offering five days of free bike hire to 500 Newark and Sherwood residents

With the weather warming up and the summer getting started, a free bike hire scheme is hoping to encourage more people to swap four wheels for two.

Brompton Bike Hire is offering residents in Newark and Sherwood five days of free hire credit for its bikes.

You could hop on a Brompton to experience the wonderful green spaces in the district and take in the sights up close, or use it to travel to work and get around the town.

Residents can book the bikes via the Brompton bike hire app, using code code NS5FREE — but the free offer is only available to the first 500 people who sign up so be quick to enter before the code runs out.

The free credit can be used for five days in a row or a day at a time. Hire is then £5 per day thereafter.

There are four docking stations in the town, located outside Newark Northgate Station, Newark Castle Station, Newark Bus Station and in the heart of the Middlebeck development, each holding eight bikes.

There are Brompton Bike docking stations all across the UK, including in London, Manchester and Birmingham, so if you’re travelling out of the district, you can drop your Brompton in another town or city.

The installation of the docking stations is just one of the many Newark Town Board’s priority projects using the £25m Towns Fund deal secured with central Government, that is levelling up the town. It forms part of the 20-Minute Cycle Town project which aims to make getting around town by bike much easier.

Tom Cartledge, co-chair of the Newark Town Board, said: “We’re trying to make cycling more accessible for residents and to give people the option to use different types of transportation to cut their carbon footprint.

“Whether you’re travelling to work or on a day out with the family, residents now have that option for an alternative way to travel.

“Newark really can be a cycling town once again and the benefits are plenty. Cycling improves our health and wellbeing, but it also reduces carbon emissions that we produce, keeps cars off the road decreasing traffic congestion and is considerably cheaper than driving.

“The town has everything it needs for this to be a success; most facilities are in close proximity of each other, and residents and visitors can now use the Brompton Bikes to cycle between both our train stations and the bus station.”

Julian Scriven, managing director of Brompton Bike Hire said: “With the Summer weather finally arriving, it’s the perfect time to get out on the bike and experience the benefits of travelling on two wheels.

‘’We’re delighted to give residents in Newark the opportunity to use our folding bikes for free for five days. The more people that travel by bike, the better it is for everyone — with less congestion and air pollution, and more space on the roads for those who need to drive.’’

Matt Lamb, director for planning and growth at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “We are continuing to promote cycling in the district, whether it be this Brompton initiative or new cycling facilities now at the YMCA Community and Activity Village which is aimed at a range of cyclists, from beginners to those who are more confident.

“The Brompton Bike Hire, part of the 20-minute Cycle Town project, is another way to get residents to use a more environmentally friendly way to travel around the town. It promotes positive health outcomes through walking and cycling and reducing carbon impacts.

“We are also continuing to work with the Highways Teams at Nottinghamshire County Council who look after our roads and pavements to explore how to improve cycling and walking routes in order to make cycling as accessible as possible”