The Cambrian Railway Partnership is offering grants of up to £1,000 to local groups for community projects within a six-mile radius of a Cambrian Line railway station.

The grants, of between £200 and £1,000, will be made through the Cambrian Community Fund, which is a small grants programme that offers financial support for projects that will enhance shared community spaces, promote wellbeing, strengthen a sense of place, or contribute to community development.

To qualify for a grant, organisations must:

• Be a community organisation, charity, CIC, or group with a bank account in the name of the organisation applying, and which requires two unrelated signatories.
• Be located within 6 miles of a Cambrian Line railway station, although there is no requirement for the activity to take place at the station itself.
• Be led by or of a clear benefit to local communities.
• Be accessible and inclusive to the intended beneficiaries.
• Deliver a clear, measurable benefit for the wellbeing of the local area or community.
• Be realistic in terms of the scope of the project, and with a clear timeline and budget.

Organisations must obtain any required landowner permissions or partner agreements before they start any work.

Grants are available for a wide range of activities for projects within six miles of the Cambrian Line, which runs from Shrewsbury in Shropshire to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli on the Cambrian coast. Typical projects could be community gardens, intergenerational events, accessibility improvements, and arts or heritage events, and include:

• Green projects for community gardens, green spaces, or growing projects.
• Improvement projects such as kits for litter picking and repairing benches.
• Sustainability and climate action such as a community compost starter kit, a pop-up repair café, or a community swap day.
• Local active travel by promoting walking and cycling.
• Sense of Place such as knitting projects, local storytelling, and community quilt making.
• Intergenerational gardening sessions.
• Art and heritage in the community, providing interpretation boards at and around stations.
• History & Interpretation with exhibitions, heritage talks, and interpretation boards.

The date to complete the project is the end of February 2027.

In June, Cambrian Railway Partnership’s Railway 200 Community Grant Fund helped volunteers to make Criccieth station in North Wales more welcoming with displays of art and local heritage.

In 2024, the Cambrian Railway Partnership won the Tourism and Leisure award at the National Community Rail Awards.