News on HS2 in Northants

Boddington Parish Council is the latest to benefit from a grant from the HS2 Community and Environment Fund (CEF), receiving £51,175 for new cycling facilities at the Charles Cowper Field.

Images courtesy of Boddington Parish Council

The funding will be used to create a new bikeability training area to help youngsters learn to cycle safely on-road, and also how to ride on off-road tracks. A separate adventure trail has already been built for more experienced cyclists. The tracks will provide a structured approach to deliver life-long cycling skills for the members of the parish and the surrounding villages, increasing the independence and confidence of young people and encouraging lapsed riders to return to cycling.

The project has been funded through a successful application to our Community and Environment Fund and the Parish Council also received funding from British Cycling and South Northamptonshire Council to complete the initiative. This is the second successful application from Boddington Parish Council to the Funds, following an award of £75,000 in 2018 for a new community play area.

Images courtesy of Boddington Parish Council

To date, nearly £8 million has been awarded from the Funds across 130 projects near the HS2 route. In Northamptonshire, 13 projects have benefitted, sharing £599,276 between them. The projects range from rebuilding the clubhouse at Brackley FC to a recently announced project funding a minibus service for residents in the village of Greatworth.

Community and Business Funds

As construction of HS2 gets underway, applications for the funds are still being welcomed. Our Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and the Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) for Phase One are worth £40 million. They give local communities and businesses disrupted by the construction of HS2 the opportunity to receive funding of up to £1 million for projects to improve their local area or support their local economy.

The Funds for Phase One, independently administered by community charity Groundwork UK, support urban and rural, community, environmental and business projects. For more information on Groundwork and the funds, including how to apply, visit https://hs2funds.org.uk/ . You can also watch our short videos which explain how to best demonstrate that your project meets the criteria for the Community, Environment or Business Funds.

If you have any questions about the Community and Business Funds, HS2 or our works, please contact our HS2 Helpdesk team on 08081 434 434 or email hs2enquiries@hs2.org.uk .