The Friends of the TPT are aware of the ongoing budget constraints that local authority officers are facing on a daily basis. As a Board we felt it would be a a great addition to the TPT route to look to seek for external funding for accessible furniture for all users to benefit.  This page shows some of the completed projects that we have been involved with along with the Trans Pennine Trail National Office.

We have a passion for providing better facilities for everyone. The support of the local community has helped to address this and hope to continue to secure funding to enhance the Trans Pennine Trail further.

If you have any improvements or suggestions you would like to see please email: friends@transpenninetrail.org.uk

Chesterfield Canal, Chesterfield https://foundationderbyshire.org/	Thanks to funding Thank you to Foundation Derbyshire for providing funding for 4 benches and 1 picnic table made and fitted by Bolsover Woodland Enterprise, who train and work with adults who have learning difficulties. These have been installed on a section of Trans Pennine Trail that is an easy access loop following the canal towpath and looping back along, what used to be, the Great Central Railway (Chesterfield Loop). Just two miles long, with plenty of resting places, it’s ideal for a short walk.
Halton, Merseyside	Thanks to funding from the PH Holt Foundation benches and picnic tables were installed at four locations: - Entrance from Parsonage Road - Old Dock entrance - Tarmac area west of above - Junction of TPT into industrial estate This project has given the local community a sense of pride with facilities that can now be enjoyed by locals and visitors using the Trail. It has been a wonderful opportunity to help local volunteers improve the Trail and showcase how such small changes can make such a big difference. Many users now enjoy the picnic tables with their families despite being in a wheelchair / scooter or simply traverse from their wheelchair onto one of the benches to enjoy the company of their family or friends where everyone along this tranquil green corridor of the Trans Pennine Trail. The project has given back a sense of involvement and pride in their local community. Remember, the Trans Pennine Trail is used in many forms with one of those being for health reasons - which can be recovering from physical operations but also to provide an area where people can also recover from mental health issues. Thanks are also expressed to our partners at Halton Council who undertook installation of the equipment.
Stockport, Greater Manchester	Kathy, our Treasurer, has been working for some time with our local supporters across the Stockport area which highlighted how much we needed to improve the information and facilities for local people and Trail users to enjoy. We've had some great results with funding secured funding from Tesco Bags of Help, CDL, Laser Quantum and Stockport Council. This funding has enabled us to design and install six Interpretation Boards along the route. These are a wonderful way to inform both locals and visitors about the industrial history and heritage, and the flora and fauna that they will come across during their travels. Two clusters of quirky perching posts in the form of hazelnuts and acorns provide some useful resting places for Trail users. With funding we received via our local Councillors, we now have a powerful leaf blower which will make clearing the TPT of leaves etc. over the Winter much easier and quicker ...and it's good fun to use! We also have two new benches, part funded by a local business, Laser Quantum, which provide a much needed resting point and also give people a focus of somewhere where they can sit and just enjoy the area.
Beeley Woods, Sheffield	This is a section of route that is just off the Trans Pennine Trail but it has always been the hope someday that it will become part of the Trail and plans are afoot to make that a reality as soon as possible! The Friends of the TPT were approached by two local supporters who are the Sustrans Rangers responsible for this stretch and who wanted to enhance the Trail by providing an information board about the wildlife in the Woods. With funding from Sheffield City Council and the Friends of the Trans Pennine Trail a beautiful information board was manufactured and installed at a really successful community/family event, with extra funding from the local Ward Pot to pay for refreshments and a Sheffield Wildlife Trust Education Officer to help organise activities. The Rangers have since recruited a group of university student volunteers as Wildlife Champions with the aim of enhancing the Trail for people and wildlife and increase the sense of community spirit locally to provide a great place for people to come along and enjoy the woods. There have been regular workdays and further community events, with more planned, and feedback since the initial event really has shown just how important a project of this nature is.
Tameside - Godley Turntable	The railway turntable site is situated at the Godley end of the Apethorn – Godley link, a section of old railway path owned by Sustrans. The Trans Pennine Trail (TPT) passes along this route until the junction at Green Lane, about ¼ mile from the turntable. It is planned that eventually the TPT will be re- routed past the turntable to provide an improved and safer link between Hyde and the Mottram/ Broadbottom area. The turntable was built in the early 1930’s as part of the Woodhead electrification process. It was the changeover point from electric to steam trains which would carry the load (usually coal) towards Cheshire. During the war, it was an important storage site and a bomb narrowly missed the turntable where a nearby pond acts as the reminder of the crater it left behind. After the railway closed in the 1960’s, the site was abandoned for 40 years and became overgrown. However, the old brickwork and the pits where ash was deposited remained intact. Volunteers working on the trail felt that such an historic site was wasted and could, if restored, be an interesting location worthy of visiting by local people and users of the nearby TPT. About 750 hours of volunteer time was spent clearing the accumulated debris before submitting applications for external funding. Habitat improvements include the provision of bat boxes, bug hotels and wildflower planting and information boards on the environment and history of the railway in the area have also been provided. The renovation of the old Godley Turntable site was made possible by funds raised by The Friends of the Trans Pennine Trail from Heritage Lottery, Tesco, the Guardian Trust and Aviva. Maintenance of the site will be a joint venture of local volunteers and the landowners Sustrans.
Selby - Burn Airfield	"Following frequent reports of winter flooding where the TPT crosses Burn Airfield south of Selby, the Friends successfully applied to Sport England for a grant to provide a weatherproof 2m wide path along the existing route, raised above the water levels where necessary. Our application was actively supported by Selby and North Yorkshire Councils, with the latter contributing financially to widen the path to an NCN-standard 3m. To see how this project was delivered, please see this further link that gives more detail: Burn Airfield Project