Chiltern Railways boosts community projects with £120k

The support has been delivered through the Community Investment Fund, which has worked to foster a positive impact in the communities it serves over the last year.

The projects were aimed to enhance the social and economic development of communities in Oxfordshire, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire and London.

Oxfordshire is one of the county's that can benefit from the fund (Image: Chiltern Railways)

Chiltern has now opened the application process for the Community Investment Fund 2025.

Applications will be open until May 31, with organisations on the route that provide social, economic or environmental value to communities urged to apply for grants ranging from £10,000 to £25,000.

One beneficiary of last year's fund, Banbury Business Improvement District (BID) has been making station enhancements.

The group worked with photographers to form a community gallery at Banbury station.

With the funding, the organisation has also delivered art workshops, inviting residents to design a vinyl mural for the town centre and station surroundings.

Jasmine Gilhooly, BID strategist at Banbury BID, said: “We have never created anything like this at Banbury BID, I am a great believer in public art created by the people themselves, so I am very excited to see this all come together.” 

Meanwhile, Achieving Results in Communities used the money to support the development of the Foundry Woods nature site in Leamington Spa.

The site is located on disused railway sidings which have been transformed into a community woodland.

The project engages community and corporate volunteers in improving access, diversifying vegetation and documenting the history of the site.

Kath Pasteur, director and project manager at Achieving Results in Communities, said: "This project has so many different impacts.

"It is improving the biodiversity of our woodland through managing invasive species and adding new native ones.

"It is also improving people's health and wellbeing, through getting them outdoors in nature, doing physical work and contributing towards a project that is of public benefit."

The Community Investment Fund also granted support to Jericho, an organisation working to help survivors of modern slavery and other vulnerable people recovering from significant trauma.

Jericho facilitated a series of day trips across the Chiltern Railways network with the aim of enhancing social and emotional wellbeing, and boosting its participants' confidence when travelling on public transport.

Nicole Newman, project coordinator at Jericho, said: "The Community Investment Fund has been an incredible help to our project.

"We’ve noticed a real improvement in the wellbeing of our participants since the project started and have seen new friendships formed."