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Cambridge City Car and Cycle Parking Standards (from 20th July 2006)

Here are the cycle parking standards for Cambridge City Council. These were agreed at the Environment Scrutiny Committee July 13th. See also:

PDF version of standards [250 KB ], also available on the City Council's website
Previous versions: 1996, 2003, 2004
South Cambs standards

Quotes by the Local Plan Inspector:

These quotes from the Inspector's report do not form part of the Standards but provide important context.

'There is certainly a great deal of unofficial parking of bicycles around the city which points to the shortage of official parking'
'The level of cycle theft in Cambridge is high'
'The Plan can only go so far in setting out the standard to be required of developers. It is then up to the City Council to ensure that those standards are adhered to'
'Cycle parking should be easily accessible and convenient to use'
'High-capacity racks... would only be acceptable in certain circumstances'

Appendix D: Cycle Parking Standards

1. Introduction

1.1 The standards in the tables below set out Cambridge City Council's minimum requirements in terms of cycle parking for new developments and changes in use.

1.2 In addition to the application of these standards, new developments will have to comply with the following principles:

Cycle racks or stands should conform to the design and dimensions as set out at the end of these standards.
For residential purposes cycle parking should be within a covered, lockable enclosure. For individual houses this could be in the form of a shed or garage. For flats or student accommodation either individual lockers or cycle stands within a lockable, covered enclosure are required. The cycle parking should be easily accessible and convenient to use.
Cycle parking for employees should be in a convenient, secure location and, where practical, covered.
Short stay cycle parking, e.g. for visitors or shoppers, should be located as near as possible to the main entrance of buildings and covered by natural surveillance or CCTV. For large developments the cycle parking facility should be covered.
Reference to staff should be taken to mean the peak number of staff expected to be on-site at any one time.
All cycle parking should minimise conflicts between cycles and motor vehicles.
Some flexibility will be applied to applications where it can be demonstrated
1. that strict adherence to the standards for a multi-purpose site is likely to result in a duplication of provision; and
2. for the Historic Core Area of the City where land constraints may make application of the standards difficult for change of use or refurbishment.

Table 1: Residential use

Type of Development	Number of Spaces
Residential dwellings	1 space per bedroom up to 3 bedroom dwellings then 3 spaces for 4 bedroom dwellings, 4 spaces for 5 bedroom dwellings etc some level of visitor cycle parking, in particular for large housing developments
Guest houses and hotels	1 space for every 2 members of staff and 2 spaces for every 10 bedrooms
Nursing homes	1 visitor space for every 10 residents and 1 space for every 2 members of staff
Retirement homes/sheltered houses	1 space for every 6 residents and 1 space for every 2 members of staff
Student residential accommodation	1 space per 2 bedspaces within Historic Core Area 2 spaces per 3 bedspaces for the rest of the City. 1 visitor space per 5 bedspaces
Residential schools, college or training centre	(as above)
Hospitals	On merit

Table 2: Retail, culture, leisure and sports uses

Type of Development	Number of Spaces
Food retail	1 space per 25 m² GFA^[1] up to 1,500 m² thereafter 1 per 75 m²
Non-food retail	1 space per 25 m² GFA up to 1,500 m² thereafter 1 per 75 m²
Financial and professional services	1 space per 30 m² GFA to include some visitor parking
Food and drinks	1 space for every 10 m² of dining area
Museums, Exhibition venues	1 space for every 2 members of staff Visitors: on merit
Sports and recreational facilities and swimming baths	1 space for every 25 m² net floor area or 1 space for every 10 m² of pool area and 1 for every 15 seats provided for spectators
Places of assembly including cinema, theatre, stadia, auditoria and concert halls	1 space for every 3 seats
Place of worship, public halls and community centres	1 space per 15 m² of public floor area

Table 3: Office uses

Type of Development	Number of Spaces
Offices	1 space for every 30 m² GFA to include some visitor parking
General industry	1 space for every 40 m² GFA to include some visitor parking
Storage and other B use classes	On merit

Table 4: Non-residential institutions

Type of Development	Number of Spaces
Clinics and surgeries	2 spaces per consulting room and 1 space for every 3 professional members of staff
Non-residential schools	Cycle spaces to be provided for 50% of children between 5 and 12 and 75% of children over 12 years
Non-residential higher and further education	Cycle parking for all students using the site and 1 for every 2 members of staff
Crèches and Nurseries	1 space for every 2 members of staff 1 visitor space per 5 children

Cycle parking

Design of rack

A Sheffield Stand is acceptable but a rounded A design is recommended as it provides additional support, particularly for smaller bicycles.

Sheffield Stand:	Rounded A Stand:

Layout

This diagram shows the spacing required for cycle stands. There should be a 1200mm space between a double row of stands. All measurements shown are in millimetres.

Layout diagram

High capacity

For increased capacity racks can be arranged at alternative heights with the type of rack that holds the front wheel in place. These racks are only acceptable if a support post is provided between each rack to which the frame for the bicycle can easily be locked. This type of rack also ensures a straight row of bicycles which is useful where space is a premium.

High capacity stands diagram

^[1] Gross Floor Area