News on HS2 in Staffs

Six Staffordshire projects share over £260,000 as number of projects supported by HS2 along route reaches 100

The number of community and business groups to receive awards from the HS2 community and business funds has topped over 100 with Staffordshire receiving six awards to date totalling £943,525 . The Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) for Phase One, between London and the West Midlands, make a combined total of £40 million available to local communities and businesses disrupted by the construction of HS2.

Amongst Staffordshire's six awarded projects is the Project Pigsty at Woodhouse Farm and Walled Garden in Lichfield. The £10,000 funding has been used to create a new indoor space at the farm which is being used as a learning, meeting and community space, providing an all-weather facility encouraging access to the farm and walled garden all year round. They received of the £262,699 awarded to date in Staffordshire.

As we work through the COVID-19 pandemic, the approval for the next stage of the project has meant that our contractors now have the go ahead to start building the new railway whilst remaining within the Public Health England (PHE) and industry guidelines. As part of our commitment to being a good neighbour, we realise that communities are affected by the construction of HS2, and the community and business funds are key to help offset the disruption caused.

As construction of HS2 gets underway, applications for the funds are still being welcomed. The Funds for Phase One, administered by community charity Groundwork UK, support urban and rural, community, environmental and business projects. Community and Business groups along the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands have been able to apply for funds since March 2017.

A map of all awarded projects is available here . Some of the awards in Staffordshire include:

£10,000 for Woodhouse Farm and Garden in Lichfield for their Pigsty Project, converting a pigsty into a community space and kitchen

£9.999 for a BMX track in Whittington, repairing the old track and providing a facility for young people in the local area.

£55,700 for the Tamworth Scouts ‘Building for the Future’ project – a new building at their District Activity Centre which will enable them to increase provision for the 13 local scout groups who use the facility

£75,000 for the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust which went towards their visitor café at the Wolseley Centre which provides a valuable facility for local people accessing wildlife in Staffordshire

£50,000 for the refurbishment of the Kings Bromley Village Hall, modernising and improving the existing facilities.

£62,000 for Beacon Park Tennis in Lichfield to improve four tennis and netball courts for public use

An announcement in January 2018 confirmed that the extra £5 million would be made available for Phase 2a (West Midlands to Crewe). There is no fixed allocation between CEF and BLEF. The additional £5 million for Phase 2a will be made available following Royal Assent (confirmation) of the Phase 2a Bill. CEF and BLEF are not currently available for Phase 2b of HS2.

The independent administration of these funds is managed on behalf of HS2 Ltd by the charity Groundwork who will ensure both funds remain available for applications throughout the construction of Phase One. Read the Groundwork annual review .

Posted on 28th April 2020

by HS2 in Staffordshire