Through its Customers and Communities Improvement Fund (CCIF), South Western Railway is to support local projects across its network from Vauxhall in London to Exeter in Devon.

Projects in Berkshire, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Surrey, and Wiltshire are set to benefit, with a total of 58 schemes having been awarded funding. When combined with additional match funding that 35 of the projects have already confirmed, over £3 million is set to be invested in these important community projects.

Under consideration are projects submitted by charities, community groups, and 15 local authorities, ranging from a primary school competition in Staines to improvements at Feniton and Salisbury stations.

Among those awarded funding will be projects that benefit local communities by improving their surroundings, as well as their residents’ quality of life.

Funding for the projects will come from a wide range of grants, such as in Wokingham, where South Western Railway has awarded £1,350 for early years play and learn sessions to Wokingham In Need, which is a charity dedicated to helping homeless and vulnerable people.

Much larger is the £76,759 awarded to the University of Portsmouth for the UK’s first ‘skills garden’, which is an interactive outdoor space for use by all of the local community.

Among the successful applications are:

• £3,633.76 as a contribution to the purchase of wet wheelchairs for Dolphins Swim Club in Woking, to provide more swimming opportunities for people with learning and physical needs.

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• £25,605 towards Active Vision, which is a 12-month project that will allow Guide Dogs to support 30 vision-impaired people living across the South Western Railway network, helping them to get out of their homes and re-engage with their local community.

• £46,000 towards improving facilities at Smallbrook Junction on the Isle of Wight, for passengers connecting between the Island Line and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, including the provision of customer Information Screens and using solar power and biodiesel for power and lighting.

WATCH: Dolphin’s Swim Club, Guide Dogs, and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway comment on their funding.

This latest round of funding brings the total number of projects supported by CCIF to over 100, with South Western Railway having given more than £7 million in grants across three rounds of funding. Last year’s projects included a Platform One Café at Shawford station and improvements to the station forecourt at Weymouth.

For further information about the Customers and Communities Improvement can be found online here.

Peter Williams, SWR’s Customer and Commercial Director said: “At South Western Railway we are always looking for ways to support the local communities our network serves, and the Customer and Communities Improvement Fund plays a vital role in this by funding schemes that will provide very real benefits for people in towns and villages across our network.

“We’re delighted to help bring these projects to life and we look forward to seeing them completed and flourishing.”

Clare Watson, Head of My Sighted Guide Improvement at Guide Dogs, said: “We are delighted to receive the funding from South Western Railway; this will enable us to support people living with sight loss along the South Western Railway route to access their community.

“Alongside that, we will be offering South Western Railway employees Sighted Guide Training. Working collaboratively together we help create a more inclusive society for people with vision impairments”.

Chris Sexton, Freedom Leisure’s Healthy Communities Manager for the Woking Area added: “As one of the UK’s leading not-for-profit leisure trusts, Freedom Leisure is committed to delivering a first class leisure service to the community – improving lives through leisure.

“We are delighted to receive funding from South Western Railway’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund. The funds will enable the purchase of “wet chairs” at Woking Pool in the Park for the Dolphins Swim Group and will provide easier access to water activities for those in the local community with mental and physical impairments. We are extremely grateful to South Western Railway for funding these chairs.”

Steve Backhouse, General Manager of Isle of Wight Steam Railway, said: “We’re delighted to receive support from South Western Railway’s Customer and Communities Improvement Fund, which will really benefit passengers connecting between our two railways at Smallbrook Junction.

“Creating a station powered by green energy, and encouraging visitors to arrive by public transport, will also play a useful role in improving our environmental sustainability.”