The new facility in Elgin is now complete, while work on the second store in Westhill is underway and nearly finished.

Cycling Scotland’s Social Housing Partnership Fund is a Scottish Government initiative aimed at improving walking and cycling facilities for the benefit of residents and helping overcome issues around isolation, health inequalities, and transport poverty.

Osprey — which currently owns and manages more than 1,800 properties across Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, and Moray — selected flats at Broadshade Drive, Westhill, and Pinegrove in Elgin as these were the only flatted properties not yet providing bike storage. Osprey’s current specification includes providing bike stores as standard on all new build developments.

Tenants at both locations were surveyed and from that exercise, it became clear there was a demand for bike storage.

Pinegrove resident Stephanie Quinn said: “I’m happy to have somewhere safe to store my bike that’s also really close to my home.

“It’s a valuable bike and I previously had nowhere nearby to keep it secure. My only option was a friend’s shed, which was far from ideal. This new bike store will make my life a lot easier.”

Osprey asset management officer Irene Madden said: “Residents had been storing their bikes in stairwells, which is unsafe, or in their homes, which is inconvenient.

“We hope that providing secure storage for bikes will encourage active and sustainable travel.”

She added that there was already a car club at the Elgin site and the two initiatives should link well.

Irene said: “Hopefully people will see less need to have their own car if they can use their bike for shorter trips and access a vehicle for longer trips or transporting large items.”

Osprey CEO Stacy Angus said: “Ensuring all our properties support and allow tenants to make sustainable travel choices aligns with our current environmental priorities as an organisation.

“Each alteration like this has a positive ripple effect and we should not underestimate the impact of small changes in the right direction to make a bigger difference.”