BICYCLE ASSOCIATION AGM
(left-to-right) BA president Mark Bickerton, BEBA chairman Mark Loveridge and BA
executive director Phillip Darnton
Bike Trade Assemble!
It has been a big 12 months for the trade, from Parliamentary enquiries to the EU’s decision on anti-dumping. In April the Bicycle Association of GB held its AGM to take stock while Jonathon Harker took notes…
IN THE late April sunshine, tourists lined the congested streets of Westminster, while inside the Houses of Parliament, in Committee Room ten, cycle trade representatives gathered for the Bicycle Association Annual General Meeting. The bicycle trade has hardly been a stranger
to the Palace of Westminster lately. From last year’s ‘Cyclesafe’ Parliamentary debate and the Summer of Cycling launch to this year’s publication of the Get Britain Cycling report (taking place on the same day as the AGM), the cycle world has been darkening the door of power ever more often. A sign of the times? As BA president Mark Bickerton pointed
out, it was even the second time the association – 40 years old in 2013 – has held its AGM in Parliament, thanks again to the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group co-chairs Julian Huppert and Ian Austin as well as Secretary Lord Berkeley.
Down to business Statistics were among the topics discussed, with bike values proving to be rising, even if volume has remained static in the recent past. Bickerton explained: “We have been keeping tabs on the UK import statistics, which have gone up and down a bit over the last couple of years, but when you take abnormal delivery timing variances out of the calculations, imports seem to have remained at just over three and half million units per year for the last four years...
30 BIKEBIZ JUNE
“Bikes have gone from
trainspotting to high
fashion – it’s the bike
industry that has acheived that.”
Edmund King, AA “So whilst we are all concerned with
promoting more bike sales, especially through encouraging bike usage, it looks like we have seen growth in market value rather than volume. The good news is that bike sales continue to be pretty buoyant.” From sponsoring the MP’s Bike Ride to working with the Department for Transport on the Cycling Stakeholder Forum advising on senior officials on future investment in cycling, the Bicycle Association has been busy. The Technical Advisory Group, led by Alan
Cater, is working on a project with Government on Cycle Safety Regulations applying to bells, brakes, lights, reflectors and EPACs with the results being published later this year. There’s a new website for the Bicycle Association too –
www.Bicycleassociation.org.uk – that resizes according to whether you’re using a PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone, and includes a log in for members to access reports. But one of the biggest nuggets of news
from the AGM was the amalgamation of the Bicycle Association and BEBA – the British Electric Bicycle Association. Over a 12 to 18 month timescale the two will become one. In the short-term BEBA chairman Mark Loveridge will join the BAGB council and BEBA will be represented on the BA’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) headed up by Alan Cater. Not only that, but all BEBA members will be able to attend BAGB general
meetings and members of the BAGB will be able to attend BEBA meetings. BAGB exec director Phillip Darnton said of
the move: “This is a timely and important step to harmonise our working relationships across the cycle industry. Having one organisation committed to providing ‘one voice’ for the industry is of paramount importance in our relationships with government, Westminster and all key stakeholders. I have no doubt that this will be a signally successful merger with real benefits to all parties.” BEBA chairman Mark Loveridge added:
“Over the last three years, we have made considerable progress in developing the awareness, interest and sales of EAPCS in the UK. We now believe that the time is right to join forces with the BAGB to take forward this market sector; promote it industry-wide, and use our combined skills and strengths to lead the industry in realising the potential for electric travel.” Apart from sharing news and statistics,
Bickerton used part of his AGM address to pay tribute to two influential and notable bicycle industry figures who sadly passed away in the last twelve months – Dr Alex Moulton and John Moore. He said: “In very different ways, both these people significantly influenced the bicycle industry, over a very long period of time.”
www.Bicycleassociation.org.uk
BIKEBIZ.COM
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