Rail Tourism Grant from the Department of Transport

Background:

The Rail Tourism Fund was devised by the Department for Transport to boost railway related tourism across the UK. The projects must include rail transport, particularly via heritage rail lines, and are designed to use the lines to boost tourism. Compass Holidays, who already had a cycling hub and hire centre based at the railway station in Cheltenham, applied for a grant to conduct a project feasibility to open a second centre in Cornwall.

Objectives:

To secure a £75,000 grant from the Rail Tourism Fund, to in turn complete a feasibility study.

Actions:

apt marketing & pr was appointed to draft and submit the grant application as per the application process. Working with the Compass Holidays’ team, apt worked to understand the potential project, how the funding would be used and how the project fit the criteria for the fund. The grant application was drafted and submitted for the maximum eligible value of £75,000.

Results:

Compass Holidays was successfully selected to obtain the full grant funding of £75,000. £75,000 was the maximum grant available and Compass Holidays was one of nine projects to be awarded £75,000 and one of only 17 projects in the country to win a grant at all.

Steve Short, Director, Compass Holidays comments “Our feasibility project was not possible without appropriate funding and the only option was grant funding. apt marketing & pr made the process really simple and ensured that our application met all the criteria. We are delighted to have won the grant and will be putting it to work straight away.”

Image credit: GWSR