The Department for Transport says it has received 60 applications for the first round of the £500 million ‘Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund’.
It comes after MPs, local councils and community groups across England and Wales were invited to propose how they would use funding to reinstate axed local services and restore closed stations.
To comply with government guidance on COVID-19, the panel is considering the bids on paper, without direct representation from the promoters.
The Ideas Fund panel members are:
- Chris Heaton-Harris MP – Rail Minister (Chair)
- Simon Clarke MP – Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government
- Sir Peter Hendy – Chair, Network Rail
- Jackie Sadek – CEO UK Regeneration
- Isabel Dedring – Global Transport Leader, Arup
Next steps
A virtual panel chaired by the Rail Minister, comprising ministerial, local authority and rail industry representatives, will be examining the bids on paper in the first instance, without direct representation from the promoters. This will enable us to identify any bids that are sufficiently advanced and provide funding so that more detailed studies can be progressed.
The department will be writing to applicants in May to update them on the progress of their application.
Applicants that have not been successful will be offered further support by the department, to help them develop their application for consideration in a later round.
Further funding rounds
The funding round in June is currently going ahead. The deadlines are Friday 22 May to register your interest and Friday 19 June to submit applications.
We will be publishing a form for applicants to register their interest shortly. This will capture high-level information including contact information, scheme type, aim of proposal, supporting MP and promoters.
We are very aware that local authorities and community organisations across the country are working very hard and prioritising their resources to respond to COVID-19. For this reason, there will be a third funding round in November to enable as many communities as possible to take advantage of the support provided.
New Stations Fund
The third round of the New Stations Fund is underway and applications close on 5 June.
If you have any questions about this fund, you can contact the team directly at newstationsfund@dft.gov.uk
Photo credit: Nagmar/Shutterstock
