Community Rail Lancashire is pleased to be able to announce that a number of recent grant applications have been successful. Two bids were to Northern’s Community Project Fund and one into the Community Rail Network’s Community Rail Development Fund (CRDF).
Project One: Blackpool South Fylde Line Heritage Trail – £2,449
This project will transform research undertaken initially by University of Lancashire History students into a professionally designed self-guided heritage trail leaflet promoting exploration of Blackpool by rail and will become the 6th walking leaflet in the South Fylde Line series.
Working in partnership with Community Rail Lancashire, the South Fylde Line Community Rail Partnership, University of Lancashire staff and local heritage partners, the project will refine and develop the draft content produced through a previous student community history project into a high-quality public resource.
The finished leaflet will showcase both iconic attractions and lesser-known stories of Blackpool’s past, encouraging residents and visitors to discover the town’s rich heritage through sustainable travel.
Project Two: Voices of Lancashire – £6,137
This project will celebrate 25 years of Community Rail in Lancashire and the role it has played in connecting communities. It brings together community voices and young people’s creativity to explore people’s experiences of rail and its importance in their lives through poetry and music, with a final live sharing of the work. The final performance will be filmed to create a digital record of the project.
The project has two connected strands:
+ Community Voices (Poetry & Station Artwork): Community members, station adopters, volunteers and partners will be invited to share reflections on what rail means to them and the role it plays in their lives and communities across Lancashire. These contributions will be gathered through existing networks, events and a dedicated rail-based engagement activity for station adopters.
Commissioned poet Ajaz Qureshi will use these thoughts, experiences and reflections to create a professionally written poem celebrating 25 years of Community Rail in Lancashire. The poem will then be transformed into a permanent train-shaped artwork installed at Accrington Station, home to Community Rail Lancashire. The artwork will provide a lasting legacy for the project and will remain on display for a minimum of five years, ensuring that the voices and experiences gathered through the project continue to be shared with station users and visitors long after the anniversary year.
+ Young People’s Voices (Songwriting Project): A group of Year 10 students from The Hollins in Accrington will work with professional musician Nick Hall to create an original song inspired by their own experiences of rail and the role it plays in their lives. Through a series of workshops, the young people will explore their ideas, develop lyrics and music, and create a piece that reflects their perspectives and experiences.
The project will provide an opportunity for students to work directly with a professional musician, developing creative skills, confidence and teamwork while contributing to a wider celebration of 25 years of Community Rail in Lancashire.
Project Three: Green Tracks Through Time – £4,364
Community Rail Lancashire (CRL), in partnership with the South Fylde Line CRP are aiming to introduce pupils from Thames Primary Academy to their local railway and its heritage, their nearby station, and the natural environment surrounding the South Fylde Line through a new creative, rail safety and environmental learning project.
Thames Primary Academy is located adjacent to Blackpool Pleasure Beach station, with the school backing onto the South Fylde Line and within ten minutes walking distance of the station for the pupils. However, many young people do not necessarily see the railway, local station or nearby coastal habitats as places that are relevant or accessible to them, or as part of their everyday lives. This project has been developed to address that need by creating a positive, practical and creative first connection between the school, Community Rail Lancashire, South Fylde Line Community Rail Partnership, Blackpool Pleasure Beach station and the wider rail network.
The project focuses on a new primary school partnership, a younger age group, outdoor environmental learning, rail safety, sustainable travel and pupil-led artwork inspired by local ecology and railway heritage that will be displayed not only at the station, but copies provided for the school and local community centre.
The school will also receive display copies of the final artwork, helping the project have a lasting presence beyond the station and enabling pupils to share their work with the wider school community. In recognition of the importance and relevance of the pupil’s contributions to the local area, the Solaris Centre, operated by Blackpool Council will also have a permanent public display of the artwork; a relationship started from a previous artwork project ‘Welcome to Blackpool Pleasure Beach’, but now being strengthened further with their special request to display this artwork once created.
These projects have been funded through Northern Railway’s Community Project Fund, through the Community Rail Development Fund, a DfT fund managed by the Community Rail Network and with match funding from Community Rail Lancashire