Avanti West Coast launches scheme to support community projects for the fifth consecutive year

• Train operator launches next round of funding aimed at supporting communities
• Customer and Communities Improvement Fund helps deliver meaningful projects
  
• Community groups encouraged to apply for funding to enhance their local area

Avanti West Coast has launched its fifth year of a specialist funding scheme aimed at supporting projects that bring benefits to stations and the communities surrounding them.

The Customer and Community Improvement Fund (CCIF) is designed to make a positive impact across Avanti West Coast’s route through new initiatives aimed at stations as well as addressing regeneration challenges and social needs in the surrounding community.

Since its introduction in 2019, multiple projects have been supported by the fund including open-air creative workshops, improved accessible travel in countryside locations and education for young people around the risks involved with anti-social behaviour on the railway.

Charities, organisations and community groups are being encouraged to submit applications for the funding to improve an area local to them, to help create a more inclusive and connected community. Submissions for projects must be in an area within 10 miles of a station along the West Coast Main Line, which runs between London, Scotland and North Wales.

With the advent of a year-long celebration of 200 years of the modern railway to be marked in 2025, the latest round of funding could also help a project during this historic year.

Applications should consider the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals – a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. This helped shape Avanti West Coast’s thinking behind the CCIF to create inclusive, prosperous and connected communities.

One beneficiary of past CCIF funding is the Central Cheshire Buddies Scheme, a local charity that supports children and young people with disabilities, as well as young sibling carers. They secured funding in 2024 and with it, created their ‘Train Buddies’ initiative, designed to educate the young people into how to navigate stations, what assistance is available during journeys and how to board a train safely.

Some had never been on a train before, so the funding was also used for trips throughout the summer holidays to cities such as Manchester, Chester and Liverpool, as well as sessions to create a piece of artwork celebrating Crewe that will be on permanent display at the station.

Andy Mellors, Managing Director of Avanti West Coast, said: “It’s been a rewarding four years watching how our Customer and Community Improvement Fund has made a difference across our route, and we’re looking forward to seeing what positivity the initiative brings in 2025, a milestone year for our railways.

“Our communities are at the heart of what we do, and we would encourage local groups, stakeholders and charities to submit their ideas and bid for a share of the funding, so we can continue to build on the positive impact the fund has had within the communities we serve.”

For more information about CCIF and guidance on how to apply for a share of the fund, visit:  https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/about-us/sustainability/community-hub/ccif.

The closing date for applications is 23:59 on 10 January 2025.

ENDS