All Curo tenants are being forced to remove their bicycles from the communal areas, even if they are not causing an obstruction. If they fail to do so then the bikes will be removed and stored for 28 days then disposed of. Anyone wishing to retrieve their bicycles will be charged £20 plus a further charge of £114 which may be added to next years' service charges.
If everyone in one of Curo's Georgian properties then chains their bike to the railings outside, not only will they go rusty, but what an eyesore for the tourists! Also I expect the council would have something to say about it!
Someone I know struggled to carry her bicycle up to her top floor flat and therefore was unable to use it, due to the impossibility of carrying it up and down stairs every time. Sadly mine will have a similar fate.
Curo are saying it is a Government policy that 'everything' has to be removed from the communal areas as it is a fire risk. Everything in life is a risk and carrying bikes and pushchairs up umpteen stairs is much more likely to cause harm. Also the fire alarms are enough to 'wake the dead' so people would be out of the building long before a fire could take hold.
How ironic this is when there was a double page spread in last week's Chronicle (24th July) on pages 36 and 37 encouraging us all to cycle. The council are even offering free training!
Roxy Roberts – address supplied