Media centre

Monday 22 Dec 2025

TRU offer £250,000 in grants to local organisations

Region & Route:

Eastern

The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) has this week confirmed that £250,000 in grants has been awarded across 35 local organisations along the Transpennine route, as part of the 2025 TRU Community Fund in partnership with Neighbourly.

Launched in 2024, the TRU Community Fund aims to help local community groups, schools and charities to create or enhance community-focused facilities, spaces and places across the 70-mile route. The second iteration has seen 35 successful applicants offered small, medium and large grants of £1000, £5000, £10,000 and £20,000 to fund their chosen projects.

 

Alex Peters, Acting Head of Sustainability for TRU, said:

“The Community Fund forms a key part of TRU’s commitment to invest in local communities, supporting the spaces and places it will be working in across the next decade.

“We’re thrilled to be able to confirm the 35 successful applicants for this year’s Community Fund. The positive impact they’re having should be a real source of pride for their communities, and we can’t wait to see what the grants will deliver.

“I’d like to thank Neighbourly for their hard work and to local stakeholders from up and down their route for their support.”

 

The TRU team have met with local MPs and Councillors to visit some of the groups to hear about what the funding will be used for from different parts of the route between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester.

One group is Rise in Unity youth hub in Huddersfield, which provides a safe space for local young people to take part in martial arts, mentoring, and wellbeing sessions. Harpreet Uppal MP presented the group with a cheque for £10,000 at a recent visit, which will help build a brand-new dining and social area at the facility.

 

Harpreet Uppal, MP for Huddersfield, said:

“TRU is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country, and I want to thank local residents for their patience as large-scale projects like these do not come without inconvenience and disruption.

“However, the project has enormous potential not only to transform journeys but to boost jobs, skills and economic growth in Huddersfield.

“Alongside this, it is great to see TRU investing in our local communities through their community fund. Rise in Unity CIC do amazing work with young people, and thoroughly deserve this award - I can’t wait to see the new space when it’s complete!”

 

Further east on the route, TRU were joined by Councillor Kate Ravilious in York to meet representatives from Lord Deramore's School, who have received a £20,000 grant. The school has partnered with Outdoor Play and Learning (OPaL) to enhance playtimes and lunchtimes, with the grant supporting plans to create storage and resource themed areas such as wheels (bikes, wheelchairs, scooters), sand pits, a mud kitchen and water play.

 

Cllr Kate Ravilious, Executive Member for Transport at City of York Council, said:

“It was a joy to visit to Lord Deramore's primary school and hear about their plans to introduce OPaL Play. I was able to see firsthand the impact the TRU Community Fund will have on our communities.

“The funding will make a tangible difference to pupils' wellbeing and learning experience and is a brilliant example of how the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme isn't just about improving our rail infrastructure.”

 

Across the Pennines in Manchester, local organisation Family Unit Trust have been awarded a £10,000 grant as TRU were joined by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Carmine Grimshaw. Family Unit Trust play a vital role in raising awareness and improving understanding of the nature, causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of all forms of cancer. The grant will support their amazing initiative in refurbishing an unused unit into a family support & wellbeing hub for families affected by cancer and illness.

The TRU Community Fund is one of the many sustainability initiatives undertaken by the programme, as outlined in the newly published 2025 Sustainable Development Report, which summarises the progress being made in delivering the TRU Sustainability & Social Value Strategy – Our Guiding Compass.