Evesham Velo Park
In October 2022, Fitzgerald completed the construction of a new cycling facility in Evesham for Wychavon District Council. The Evesham Velo Park has been designed and built locally to world class standards, with input from both British Cycling and Sport England.
It is a key part of the District Council’s ambitions to improve health and wellbeing and provide better sports and leisure facilities for local people. As the first of its kind in the region, the Velo Park will also drive local investment, acting as a gateway to the wider Wychavon area.
The 24-week scheme involved the creation of a 1km long closed road circuit (6534m²), pump track (1460m²), learn to ride circuit (589m²), including street marking to help children and adults build confidence while learning to ride, an all-ability cycle route (1202m²) aimed at supporting cycling for disabled riders, and a cycle cross route (230m). Ancillary work included the provision of a new car park, a raised timber decking area for spectators, and a link footpath.
Our works included earthworks, drainage, edging, surfacing, and road markings, together with complementary landscaping, fencing, and lighting. We also undertook site clearance on adjacent land to enable the installation of new football pitches to replace the ones lost by the creation of the Velo Park.
Built adjacent to the home of Evesham United Football Club, our deliberately constrained work areas separated construction activity from the rest of the site, with clear signage segregating construction traffic and site users. Secure fencing and strictly controlled access and egress ensured no unauthorised access to the worksite and we successfully mitigated both noise and dust impacts. We co-ordinated all activities with the Football Club, enabling use of the existing site facilities throughout the duration of the works.
We worked collaboratively with the client to ensure all material used in building the cycling facilities came from within the existing site and that site re-profiling met the needs of all site users. Excavated material was re-used on site, removing associated transport, disposal, and carbon costs.
The quality of the cycling track surfaces received high praise from both British Cycling and members of local cycling clubs who took part in a day to test the quality of the finished product.
The works were completed on time, with an excellent safety record, and with minimal impacts on the daily operation of the existing site and facilities. The Velo Park officially opened for club bookings at the end of October 2022 and was opened to the public in December 2022.
“Evesham Velo is a flagship, bespoke and fairly unique project nationally, never mind regionally. I cannot fault the attitude of Fitzgerald throughout the whole process from pre-commencement to post completion.” Martyn Cross, Wychavon District Council.