CAMPAIGNERS have again called on the council to look at installing cycle parking in the city centre centre after holding a rally for a bike rack.

Cyclists, councillors and campaigners gathered outside Worcester City Museum and Art Gallery on Friday (July 24) calling on the county council's cabinet member for highways Cllr Alan Amos to reconsider his refusal to install a bike rack in May.

A pilot scheme for cycle parking was due to take place but fell through after failing to get permission from the county council's highways department.

Cllr Louis Stephen, leader of the city council's Green group, said the rally was to show that demand would be there for cycle parking if it was allowed to go ahead.

"In the 'Rally for a bike rack' event we have shown how ten cycles could be parked in the space of two cars," he said.

"There are massive economic and public health reasons to encourage more cycling in the city."

Danny Brothwell, chairman of campaigners Bike Worcester, said: "The museum and art gallery has no nearby cycle storage racks for visitors yet plenty of nearby car parking spaces.

"The city council came up with a fantastic idea to install pop-up cycle racks - it's a mystery why this seems to have been blocked by the county council."

Cllr Amos had refused the plan because facilitating it would mean the loss of a car parking space.

In May he said: "The truth is very simple. To put the bike racks in this location would have meant the loss of two car parking spaces that are very well used. There was no justification to remove vital parking spaces from a location where there is already a severe shortage of them and which are heavily used, thereby creating a new parking problem in neighbouring side streets.”

Cllr Paul Denham, opposition lead member for highways at the county council, said, "I asked why the proposed cycle parking opposite the museum and art gallery had been refused at a meeting of the council's economy and environment panel on June 19, attended by Cllr Amos and senior council officers.

"My question was not answered, either at the meeting or since. I do not understand why Cllr Amos is so opposed to cyclists in our city."