Inwood Mural Painting
9 June 2022
On Saturday 4 June the community came together to put the finishing touch to a new mural at Inwood Park cycling hub near Hounslow Town Centre. The project was the result of a partnership between Hounslow Council, Sustrans, and Transport for London’s (TfL) Healthy Streets Programme.
Sustrans are a national charity who make it easier to for people to walk and cycle.
The event acted as a warm-up to National Bike week which started on Monday 6 June.
Inwood Park has its own dedicated cycling tracks and provides facilities and trained instructors to help children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), to learn and improve cycling skills. Sessions are also open to people of all ages, not just young people.
Opening in 2020 amid the pandemic, the Inwood Park Cycling Hub has provided adapted cycles, safety equipment, and one-to-one sessions with trained instructors at free sessions every Saturday from 10am to 1:30pm.
Users are given free access to specialized equipment such as side-by-side cycles or tricycles, together with regular cycles, which enable friends, family and carers to enjoy the off-road activities in a safe, sociable outdoors environment.
Pupils from two SEND schools in the borough had made a start on the mural at an event two weeks earlier for them try out the adapted cycles. The mural was then completed by volunteers using spray paint.
Hounslow Council offers a range of free training sessions, try-before-you-buy schemes and facilities to help as many people as possible enjoy the benefits of cycling.
Free sessions happen every Saturday at Inwood Park, from 10am to 1:30pm and can be booked by contacting [email protected].
Councillor Katherine Dunne, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport Strategy, said:
“This was a great event that I had fun attending. It shows that disabilities do not necessarily have to be a barrier to cycling. The murals are eye-catching and cheerful and have really brightened up the area.
“The mental and physical health benefit of being outdoors and getting active should be available to everyone to everyone and I hope as many people as possible have been able encouraged to start cycling or improve their skills during Bike Week.”
James Cleeton, Sustrans London Director, said:
“We’ve loved working with Hounslow on creating this fantastic community cycle hub. The past two years have seen a surge of people cycling and walking in their local area, and it’s so important that everyone in the community can enjoy this.
“The all-ability cycle hub at Inwood Park provides a safe, guided, off-road environment – and it’s good to see local residents brightening the place up!”
