Living in London is amazing and with the emphasis to cycle more, whether purely for pleasure or commuting, we now find ourselves in a situation whereby we have the bikes but no place to securely store them. 

Having taken the time to research the myriad of secure bike storage solutions on the market, I personally landed on a London-based design practice focused on bespoke bike storage for the front garden, ‘Bikebox Works’, however there are many options on the market that will offer solutions tailored to your needs and not all may need planning permission. 

It is worthwhile at this point, that once you have decided on a concept, to contact the supplier and see if there are solutions that they have installed already within the area.  In my case, I went out to explore what had been designed and installed across London to see if their approach would provide what I was looking for.  It turned out that they had quite a few projects across London. What was important to me was that the solution would be secure, aesthetically pleasing, in character, environmentally friendly and something that supported the greening initiatives within the St Johns area.

Having agreed a design concept for our garden, the first hurdle was overcome.  Now came the second – the need to apply for Planning Consent from Lewisham Council. Having come out the other side of the planning process, these are some key points you may find useful to help get a successful outcome to your planning application.

Key points should planning permission be required:

  • Approach neighbours to share your concept and detailed design proposals prior to the planning application being submitted. They will be consulted during the planning process, so it’s better to see if there are any concerns that can be accommodated prior to submitting for planning.
  • Prior to submission, and where possible, seek input from your chosen bike storage contractor as they will generally be very experienced in any planning requirements and national and local legislation that can support your case; as well should have an on-going reference list of accepted planning applications across the various London boroughs, which will help develop your Design & Access Statement for the formal planning application.
  • On submission, seek an interim review with a local planning officer to sense check the design and proposal. This will highlight any red flags ahead of the final decision, ensuring time and effort are optimized throughout the planning process.
  • Align your proposal with the wider Lewisham transport and planning policy (Lewisham Council support cycling initiatives).
  • Align your design with Lewisham’s Local Planning policies

Cheater’s notes – all planning submissions are public and you could use a lot of the same information to support your own application.  Search the planning portal Householder Planning Applications for ‘bike/cycle/bicycle storage’ to see what you can leverage.

Non exhaustive list of suppliers:

For further information you can contact Paul direct on paulmidd75@gmail.com