Community Rail Report Table of Contents
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Community Rail Report Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2 1.1 Foreword 2 1.2 Executive Summary 3 2. Community Rail Report 4 2.1 Introduction to the Report 4 2.1.1 Community Rail Partnerships 2.1.2 Funding for Community Rail Partnerships 2.1.3 Community Rail Partnership Funding Table 1 2.1.4 Community Rail Executive Group (ComREG) 2.1.5 Community Rail Conference 2.1.6 Project Funding 2.1.7 Station Adoption Fund 2.1.8 Seed Corn Fund 2.1.9 Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP)1 2.1.8 Community Rail Lancashire (CRL) - Developing Engagement Through Education 2.1.9 Station Adoption Scheme 2.1.10 Northern Franchise/Arriva Strategy - Working with Communities 2.1.11 The Community Rail Partnerships 20 3. Community Rail Partnership profiles 22 3.1 Settle - Carlisle Railway Development Company 3.2 Leeds - Morecambe Community Rail Partnership 3.3 Barton - Cleethorpes Community Rail Partnership 3.4 Yorkshire Coast Community Rail Partnership 3.5 Penistone Line Community Rail Partnership 3.6 Bishop Line Community Rail Partnership 3.7 Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership 3.8 Esk Valley Railway Development Company 3.9 South Fylde Line Community Rail Partnership 3.10 West of Lancashire Community Rail Partnership 3.11 Cumbrian Coast Line Community Rail Partnership 3.12 Furness Line Community Rail Partnership 3.13 Lakes Line Community Rail Partnership 3.14 North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership 3.15 Mid Cheshire Community Rail Partnership 3.16 East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership 3.17 Clitheroe Line Community Rail Partnership 3.18 South East Manchester Community Rail Partnership 3.19 Crewe to Manchester Community Rail Partnership 3.20 High Peak and Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership 4. Appendices 61 Appendix 1 Committed Obligations 61 Appendix 2 Table: station adoption projects 64 1 1. Introduction 1.1 Foreword During the second year of the Northern franchise we have built on the strong foundations developed over the first year with our partners and we are now beginning to deliver real change through our ambitious community rail agenda. We warmly welcomed the opportunity to respond to the Department for Transport’s consultation on Community Rail Development confirming that we are firmly committed to the principles of community rail development within the communities we serve. Our Regional Community and Sustainability Managers are now fully embedded across the business and are making real strides in expanding our reach within the wider communities. They have been instrumental in attracting many more community groups to adopt our stations and we now around 70% of our stations adopted, with over 3000 active volunteers making a huge difference to our station environment. We continue to see a significant level of interest in both the Seed Corn and Station Adoption Funds with all the year two adoption funding allocated and many other We have been working closely with our colleagues at schemes in the pipeline for year three. It has been really ACoRP to develop their plans to help further develop our pleasing to see the fantastic work being carried out by Community Rail Partnerships by assisting them in our valued volunteers with around 200 station adoption developing targeted marketing plans, supporting new schemes delivered since the start of the franchise. We uses for old railway property and helping with additional have included some fantastic examples within this skills development with a particular focus on website report. design. Our annual Community Rail Conference took place in We look forward to continuing to build on our progress September 2017, which welcomed more than 150 so far and working with all our CRPs and station guests from across the network. The event was an adoption groups. opportunity for our community rail family to review the Craig Harrop first year of the franchise, look ahead, share ideas, demonstrate best practice through a number of project Community and Sustainability Director case studies and network with the Northern management team and industry colleagues. You can read more about it in this report but we will continue to use your feedback from the day to help shape and make this year’s event even better. 2 1.2 Executive Summary This is the Third Northern Community Rail annual report of The Community Rail Executive Group (ComREG), made the new franchise. up of rail industry, community and sustainability representatives, plays a key strategic role in terms of A study produced by our partners at the Association of funding distribution. Through ComREG we ensure that Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) in March 2018 the £500,000 per annum core funding for the Northern identifies five themes for community rail as a champion of Community Rail Partnerships (CRP amount), and a social inclusion: promoting accessible journeys for all; further £600,000 per annum to advance the wider connecting people to opportunities and services; stations community rail agenda, delivers great projects and as spaces for social growth and enterprise; community rail maximum value to our customers, our railways and our volunteering and using arts and heritage to engage communities. This group is currently unique in the UK communities. You will find real life examples of these railway industry, helping to shape community rail policy themes on the pages of this report. When industry and Northern’s dynamic approach to community engages with community, everyone benefits. engagement and sustainability. This year we have firmed up a new partnership – the North In this report we also introduce you to our hard-working Cheshire Community Rail Partnership - and supported a Regional Community and Sustainability Managers proliferation of new station adoption groups. We now (RCSMs) who work closely with CRPs in their respective support 20 fully fledged Community Rail Partnerships regions. Alongside partners at ACoRP, the RCSMs have working across the Northern region. helped to bring in new training packages for CRPs, New community rail projects are coming to fruition all the including business and commercial skills, tourism and time through the Station Adoption Fund and the Seed Corn heritage skills, and a marketing programme. Fund. The latest projects, featured in this report include: From improving the station environment, to engaging • A ground-breaking project along the Bentham Line, with young people, supporting local business, leading the way in making stations more dementia promoting the arts and preserving our railway heritage, friendly and helping rail staff to be dementia aware. Community Rail is making a difference - helping to • A musical installation at Edge hill station, in which promote rail as a sustainable transport option for over 100 young people from a deprived area of business, for people, for the environment and for the Liverpool worked with top class musical artists, future. translating their experiences and hopes for the future into lyrics, song and samples. The installation was launched in September 2017 and attracted 100s of visitors to the station. • The second year of a collaboration between the Cumbrian Coast Community Rail Partnership and the national charity Turning Point. By adopting Green Road station on the edge of the Duddon estuary ‘The Rail Journey to Recovery’ facilitates a new rehabilitation programme in which recovering addicts can get involved in the restoration and care of the station shelter, fences, wildlife and gardens, to the benefit of all. 3 2. Community Rail Report 2.1.1 Community Rail Partnerships We can confirm that, following detailed discussions with last year’s report we will continue to fund the Barton- each partnership about their plans and the funding Cleethorpes CRP in the third year of our franchise, which required for those plans, we have agreed Service Level in turn has meant minor changes to some of the other Commitments (SLC) with all of the CRPs across Northern. original forecasts. We are also aware of proposals for some new Community Rail Partnerships on the Northern 2.1.2 Funding for Community Rail Partnerships network and will be mindful of their funding aspirations As several CRPs continue to have their funding from as they develop. See table one. other sources reduced, the ‘CRP amount’ is not sufficient In distributing the ‘CRP amount’ we remain mindful of to achieve all of their aspirations and we have had to the Secretary of State's current published Community take a view on a fair distribution of this. We would like Rail Development Strategy and the review being to thank all the CRPs for their engagement with this undertaken. Ultimately, the mechanism for making process, which has laid the foundations for meeting decisions is ComREG, and following on from the above, Northern community rail goals and obligations going ComREG will decide the final distribution prior to the forward. annual publication of each Community Rail Report. The effective redistribution of funding is key to meeting our long- term aspirations – both in terms of maximising value and driving forward new, exciting plans for community rail development, working through - and working with - our partnerships. However, our funding decisions, ratified by ComREG, involve a large number of players and a real-world context of complex and changing conditions. This includes the change in franchising schedule, which means in contrast to the proposals in 4 2.1.3 Community Rail Partnership Funding Table 1 All sums are index linked. Final payments will reflect indexation and input from ComREG. CRP Designated