Decision details

To award a UK Shared Prosperity Fund grant of £350,000 to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway towards the development of a new Mutual Improvement Classroom, supporting the development of skills and knowledge essential to the running and maintenance of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and also to other steam railways across the world.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity are awarded by the Government to North Yorkshire Council for the purposes of community and economic development. The primary goal of the UKSPF is to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK.

Grants are awarded through a competitive process of application and appraisal according to criteria set out by the Council. The decision to approve a grant is made by an independent panel through a transparent audited process.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway has been awarded funding through this process following a successful application which has been deemed to meet the aims and objectives of the fund in North Yorkshire. The total value of this project is £700,000.

Grant giving has been selected as the method for distributing funds from the UKSPF for projects which support the aspirations of the fund in Building Pride in our Places. This approach is considered to be the most efficient in providing funding directly to local organisations and communities. This is a competitive grant fund and other projects are also able to apply for and receive funding. As such the decision is made by an independent appraisal panel according to agreed criteria which determine if a grant should be awarded or not.