Grant helps transform village bus stop

A South Yorkshire village has replaced its dilapidated bus shelter with support from a local wind farm fund.

Dunford Parish Council has installed a new two-bay Heritage shelter in Carlecotes, west of Penistone, after receiving £4266 from the community benefits fund linked to Hazlehead Wind Farm.

The previous wooden shelter had stood for decades but had deteriorated to the point where its roof was collapsing, leaving residents travelling to school and work without a safe place to wait for buses.

The replacement features full end panels and aluminium seating, providing passengers with improved protection from the elements.

As part of the project, local residents also carried out a clean-up around the shelter to further improve the surrounding area.

Susie Pickford, former member of Dunford Parish Council and treasurer of the Dunford Residents Association, said: “The old bus shelter had served the community well, but it had reached the end of its useful life and it had got to the point that it really wasn’t safe to use at all any more.

“The Parish Council was particularly concerned that this lack of cover could deter some local parents from sending children on the school bus, especially if they were having to wait in the rain during the dark winter months, and so we began to look at options for bringing in a replacement. 

“The new shelter looks really smart and is robust enough to last for a long time into the future, and we’ve already had lots of positive comments from both local people about the difference it will make to their morning commutes.

“Its installation also provided a new opportunity for residents to come together and smarten up the surrounding area, which we hope will now retain the improvements we’ve made and will make the village an even more attractive place for walkers on the nearby Trans Pennine Trail to visit.

“This type of capital spend represented a big challenge for a small community like ours and we simply wouldn’t have been able to purchase the new shelter without the generous support we’ve had from the Hazlehead fund.” 

Hazlehead Wind Farm, located between Carlecotes and neighbouring Crow Edge, is owned by independent renewable energy producer ERG and managed by OnPath Energy.

Its community benefits fund provides around £7000 each year to support local good causes and projects.

Funding is normally available to schemes within Dunford parish, although projects outside the area can also qualify if they can demonstrate benefits for people living within the community.

Melissa Falconer, head of business development UK at ERG, added: “With the acquisition of Hazlehead Wind Farm, ERG is reaffirming its commitment to honouring its responsibilities to the local area, ensuring that the site continues to generate clean energy while remaining a trusted ‘Good Neighbour’ to the local community.

“For ERG, this means going beyond financial support and building a relationship based on shared values and a genuine commitment to contributing to the local area. 

“Being part of this community means taking care of it, supporting initiatives that deliver tangible benefits for local people while also contributing to the protection of the wider environment.

“Hazlehead is therefore more than an energy infrastructure asset: ERG sees it as a resource shared with the local community. 

“A valuable asset to be developed through collaboration, helping to build a sustainable future where clean energy generation can go hand in hand with the protection and enhancement of the rural heritage.”

Tom Chaplin, partnership and community manager at OnPath Energy, added: “The Hazlehead Wind Farm community benefits fund was specifically designed to enable local communities to enhance the facilities available to their residents and build real community value.

“It has been successfully doing so for more than 15 years and this project is just of the ways it will continue to do so for decades to come.”

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