Indoor bike park popping up in disused warehouse
MAYFIELD Depot, the abandoned railway station near Piccadilly, is due to welcome a pop-up indoor bike park later this month.
The Dirt Factory Pop-Up will take up residence inside a 25,000 sq ft disused warehouse, following a massive crowd-funding effort.
Five cyclists banded together to raise more than £400,000 for the project, hoping to bring family-friendly and high-quality indoor bike trails to the heart of Manchester.
The site, which is located just off Mancunian Way, will use about 2,000 tonnes of reclaimed soil to create a course of bike trails and features designed for riders of all ages and abilities.
More than 50 volunteers have signed up to support the project, with 10 full and part-time jobs created in addition. The Dirt Factory is expected to remain open for up to two years while the 24-acre Mayfair site is transformed to an ‘urban quarter,’ with office buildings, leisure space, 1,300 homes, a hotel and a new city centre park - Manchester’s first in more than 100 years. After the pop-up, the bike park hopes to move to a permanent home at a larger facility. Regeneration specialists U+I were brought in to the project in 2016, opening up parts of Mayfield to public use once again with GRUB’s weekly street food fairs and other one-off events. James Heather, development director for the Mayfield Partnership, which comprises Manchester council, LCR, TFGM and U+I, said: “We are really pleased and excited to be supporting the launch of Dirt Factory, it’s a fantastic initiative and one that fits perfectly with our own values in terms of community and well-being. “Since the formation of the partnership nearly two years ago we have focused on learning about the heritage of this site and listening to a wide range of people about what they would like to see here. This has been invaluable in helping shape Co-founder and MD Dan Makin our long term vision for Mayfield.
“While doing this we have brought part of the site back to life by working with GRUB, hosting headline events for Manchester International Festival and CityCo, the pop-up Christmas cinema and most recently Manchester Pride.
“The Dirt Factory Pop-Up continues this worthwhile work and we look forward to welcoming cyclists of all ages coming to Mayfield.”
Dirt Factory co-founder and managing director Dan Makin, said: “We can’t wait to open at Mayfield. The Dirt Factory Pop-Up is an amazing opportunity to bring our dream alive and as a start-up it’s great to have such amazing support from the Mayfield Partnership.
“As well as the opportunity to ride a range of indoor bike trails and features, the Dirt Factory Pop-Up will offer bike hire including e-bikes and a host of exciting events.”
Welcoming the launch of the popup, Greater Manchester’s cycling and walking commissioner Chris Boardman said: “Mountain biking and BMX are hugely popular activities and high-quality, low-cost facilities in convenient city locations are a major factor in encouraging more people to give them a try.”