Grant Given to Fund Projects at Local Railway Stations

Hounslow Council awarded £130,000 from SWR's community fund

Cycle parking is currently limited outside Kew Bridge Station. Picture: Google Streetview

August 10, 2023

There will be an extra £130,000 available to improve train stations on the Hounslow Loop due to a grant awarded by South Western Railway (SWR).

Hounslow Council successfully bid for the funding from the train company’s Customer and Communities Improvement Fund (CCIF).

Among the projects that the money will be used for are 43 new Sheffield stands for cycle parking in the vicinity of Kew Bridge station and a forecourt feasibility study at Isleworth to understand better what further improvements can be made to the station to ensure it is accessible to everyone. The Council, along with Network Rail and SWR, has already started working on making Isleworth station more accessible by providing a step free access to the main platforms.

Other schemes include an all-ability cycling hub in Feltham and Hounslow which will provide free cycle training for all members of the local community, with a particular focus on having a range of adapted bikes for residents with learning and physical disabilities. The funding will pay for the implementation of a new cycle training hub at Feltham Arenas with the purchase of 30 new cycles and also cover the purchase of new adaptive cycles to be used at Feltham Arenas and at Inwood Park All Ability Hub in Hounslow.

The CCIF support projects that have a community benefit or address an area of social need across the SWR network. It is intended to provide backing for small and medium-sized projects which can be completed over the course of the year. In previous rounds of funding, it has supported more than 70 projects with a value of over £6million.

Councillor Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport and Deputy Leader of the Council, said, “We are very pleased to have been awarded this funding, which will make a difference to our residents and communities. These projects also support our ambitious green agenda as well as helping people lead healthier and more active lives.”

Maryam Zade, SWR’s Customer and Communities Improvement Fund Manager, said, “Connecting people and communities is at the heart of our business and CCIF, our community fund, gives us an opportunity to support organisations with their projects that focus on community benefit.

“Hounslow Council’s development of all-ability cycle hubs will help members of the local community to learn how to be safe on the road and will encourage them to discover the joys of cycling – which, like the railway, is a sustainable and environmentally friendly means of transport.”