Common Wheel relaunch their Bridgeton Workshop

Due to the early success of the original Maryhill Build Your Own Bike Workshop, in 2006 Common Wheel decided to open a second additional workshop in the Bridgeton area of Glasgow to fulfil demand. This allowed Common Wheel to expand their offering even further in order to have a wider social impact and make the projects they run even more accessible across the Glasgow region. The group is still running out of places on both the Maryhill and Bridgeton workshops due to their popularity!

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Common Wheel had to close their Bridgeton bike workshop. During that time, they were able to undertake significant upgrades to the Bridgeton site. This included creating a more open space by removing walls, installing new sinks, and refurbishing the interior.

The Bridgeton workshop had not been open to the public since the renovations, so with the arrival of the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, it seemed like the right time for Common Wheel to celebrate the re-opening of their workshop.

Launch day

The day was filled with elements from each of the workshops that Common Wheel run, brought together at the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust. In the morning, the latest projects were showcased to referrers who could learn about Common Wheel in order to help more people get involved. In the afternoon, each project was opened to the general public so they could see the new workshop alongside the additional value it is adding to the community. It was also a great chance for participants to display their work!

Build Your Own Bike workshops were run up until the opening event. This meant that participants were able to see their bikes on show at the occasion alongside other interesting and unusual bikes at the venue. Previous participants were invited back to take part in a bike competition, and there was even a bike-powered Scalextric, which was built by one of Common Wheel’s Bike engineers, Neil.

Leading up to the event, the Carnival Club participants designed flags that were tie-dyed in the Common Wheel colours. These flags had the aim of celebrating the projects run by the organisation. The participants learned the process of screen-printing using stencils they made and printed onto the flags. They were then displayed at the Bridgeton opening event. Additionally, the Carnival Club ran a craft table for children on the day of the opening which proved very popular!

The Common Wheel music group spent the weeks writing and learning music that celebrated all things bike. During the event itself, the participants got the chance to play this music live! This included sections from songs like Bicycle Race (Queen), Riding Along on My Pushbike (Mungo Jerry), and Sweet Child of Mine (Guns n Roses), all of which featured lyrics rewritten about the Common Wheel project.

Social Value

Social value commitments play a key part in any overlay project and it is increasingly important for suppliers to work with the local authority and stakeholders in order to have a positive outcome on community engagement and the wellbeing of community groups. With our delivery of overlay to the UCI Cycling World Championships, along with our support of the Common Wheel projects, the Bridgeton opening event became the perfect opportunity to support a great organisation and provide positive social impact to the local community in Glasgow.

The event allowed all areas of the Common Wheel project to come together and showcase their work and the benefit it's having on the wellbeing of local people in the Glasgow community. It also meant that participants could engage with others and really get involved with the local community which can have wider benefit for their wellbeing and be a key part of their recovery.

If you would like to help create a positive social impact and get involved with the common wheel project, you can donate to the organisation via their Wonderful Payments page or PayPal, where 100% of contributions go directly to the charity. Find out more on their website.