Hello everyone, sorry for my delay in getting back to you all.
Thank you to Shaun for putting this post up for us and to all those who have read the thread and taken the time to reply so genorously.
I suppose an update on the situation wouldn't go amiss.
Last Friday we met at the scene of the fire with our insurance loss adjuster, the Park Manager and the council's Buildings Manager. The result of this meeting have made for a more positive outlook for the future of our sessions in Brockwell Park.
It looks like the building the bikes were stored in is almost undamaged, it needs to be made more secure and there is a hideous amount of smoke damage but otherwise the structure is still sound.
It is only too apparent that it was only our bikes that were targeted, looking like the fire was started deliberately using the cushions from an old sofa that had been left in the building.
By all accounts there was a large number of youths who illegaly attended a 'Facebook' party in the park on the night of the fire and congregated at the rear of our building.
At a guess, an attempt was made to move the bikes, which would have been fruitless as they were all padlocked together in one mass, and so in response parts of the building were systematically vandalised and the bikes were set on fire.
The Parks & Building Managers are very keen to sort out the building to make it safe for us and the other agancies that use the building, there has been no time given but at least we know those wheels are in motion.
As for the bikes themselves, the loss adjuster has agreed to release 50% of the payment and sees little worry about us getting the rest.
So how can you good people help?
Any donations, no matter how small, will be gratefully recieved, although we have the monies coming for the bikes this attack has made for a mountain of extra administration and costs that look like lasting into the new year.
Following advice I shall post the donations page link here.
http://www.justgiving.com/wheelsforwellbeing/
And as for the bikes themselves.
We are going to have the funds to replace the machines but it will be a lengthy task. A lot of our bikes were bequeathed to us or bought through
Ebay and small ads, also, handcycles, wheelchair bikes and side-by-side tandems have to be made to order and, in some cases, imported from Europe. This again effects how long it takes us to replace the fleet.
If you know of any 'special' or 'adapted' bikes that are available for sale we'd be very happy to hear from you.
Things will be quiet for the next week as my boss is on leave but rest assured we will be craking on with getting the sessions back up and running as soon as possible and again, thank you all for your support and kind words, it is very much appreciated.
Best Wishes,
Tdr1nka
