Posted on Thursday 20th March 2025
Barry Swift, Chairman of Newcastle Community Transport, Chris and John Yarwood (customers) and Ernie, (Volunteer Driver).
Wheelchair users and people with mobility difficulties in Newcastle are benefiting from a project thanks to a local voluntary group and funding from the county council.
Newcastle Community Transport provides a wheelchair-friendly, door-to-door transport service covering Newcastle and the surrounding areas. The service helps people get to medical appointments, shopping trips and to attend support groups, day centres, churches, and social clubs. The charity has more than 120 regular customers and makes around 4,700 journeys per year.
The project received £2200 from Staffordshire County Council’s Local Community Fund to help to purchase a small wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) and to help with the maintenance costs.
Barrie Swift, Chairperson of Newcastle Community Transport said:
“We’re extremely grateful for the funding and I’d like to thank those councillors who contributed.
“The funding towards the smaller bus has made a huge difference to us in terms of being more accessible for our customers. This means we’re able to get people closer to drop off points, which makes it easier for them.
“As a small local charity, which has been in existence for 50+ years, we rely heavily on volunteers to drive the buses. This smaller bus can also be driven by more volunteers and anyone interested in joining the charity as a volunteer should get in touch.”
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities at Staffordshire County Council, said:
“Staffordshire has always had a vibrant voluntary and community sector, with hundreds of fantastic groups making a huge difference in their local communities.
“This is a wonderful community service that provides vital transport to those unable to easily access public transport and for those who do not have a car to enable them to get to essential appointments and to access other shopping or social activities. It’s exactly the kind of project we aim to support and I’m pleased that our funding has been able to help the group in buying and maintaining the new smaller bus."
John and Chris Yarwood from Newcastle are one couple who use the bus on a regular basis.
Chris said:
“This really is a brilliant service and without it we’d be totally lost.
“John is a wheelchair user, so the new bus is perfect for getting us around the town for hospital and GP appointments. I’d like to thank Barry and the team and all the volunteer drivers who are great. I’d also urge other people with a disability who struggle to get out and about to try the service for themselves.”
Staffordshire County Council’s Local Community Fund gives all county councillors an allocation of up to £2,500 to spend on community projects in their area. This current fund has now closed and details of future funds will be available on the webpage.
Photo captions (L-R): Barry Swift, Chairman of Newcastle Community Transport, Chris and John Yarwood (customers) and Ernie, (Volunteer Driver).