Community schemes

Please tell us what you think about our website, we welcome your feedback.

Customer notice

Due to essential maintenance some of our web services will be unavailable between these times 7pm Friday 25 May and 5pm Sunday 27 May 2012.

In case of any emergencies please see our Facebook or Twitter pages.

Bike Servicing

Getting around by bike is cheap, healthy and a lot of fun, but it's important to make sure your bike stays in good condition. Why not arrange a bike servicing session in your community? You can get a health check for your cycle, or maybe find out how to fix simple problems like punctures

Car Sharing

Do you make the same journey regularly? Maybe it's a commute to work, the school run, or a weekly visit to the supermarket; whatever journey you're making it's likely that there are others making a similar one. It could be a colleague whose village you drive through on the way to the office, or a neighbour whose morning route takes him past your workplace.

Car sharing can half your fuel bills instantly, either by only using your car on alternate journeys, or arranging to pay a 'fare' to the driver based on the miles travelled. Smarter Choices can help you to set up a register of car sharing interests either in your village or in your workplace, and give you advice on safe, successful car sharing.

Walking Clubs

Walking clubs give you the opportunity to meet people, enjoy the local countryside and stay healthy. We can help you to set one up, make suggestions of routes in and around your village or town, or assist with publicity for the club.

Footpaths and Cycleways

Both walking and cycling are excellent alternatives to using your car, but you need to have somewhere safe to do them.

If your community has an existing footpath or cycleway that could do with some work, or if you can identify a route for a new footpath or cycleway, contact transportplanning@wiltshire.gov.uk.

We can help with co-ordinating volunteers to repair or renovate existing routes, advise on new routes and assist in getting them created.

Moped Leasing

A popular scheme for remote villages is moped leasing. This allows young people to lease-hire a moped to allow them to get to work or college.

Passenger Transport can help you to get the scheme off the ground, and to run it locally – email transport@communityfirst.org.uk

Community Bus

Wiltshire has already had great success with community bus schemes: with the Connect2 and RUH Hoppa services.

A community bus works by running a timetabled circular route which it detours off from to pick up people who have book it to come to them. It continually circulates 'wiggling' off the core route to pick up and drop off.

If you think that your village would benefit from a community bus, Passenger Transport can help you in liaising with bus operators, suggesting possible routes, and co-ordinating with other villages in your area - email passengertransport@wiltshire.gov.uk

Local Facilities

Why travel when you can get everything you need in your village? With more and more villages losing their post office, shop, or even pub it is increasingly important that we use our local facilities.

The Economic Regeneration Unit can advise local businesses on diversifying to improve the services they offer and increase their customer base. Maybe the local pub could double up as a post office during the day, or the village shop could offer internet access.

It can also help you to attract new customers by finding out what they want, and when and where they want it! Contact econdev@wiltshire.gov.uk

The Internet

The internet offers a way to shop, bank, and do hundreds of other things without having to travel at all.

Most of the big supermarkets will now deliver your groceries direct to your door, and many banks offer preferential interest rates to their internet customers. The internet will let you do anything from planning and booking a holiday, to tracking down old friends!

If you think that having access to the internet would reduce car journeys in your community then contact econdev@wiltshire.gov.uk. We can help you to set up an internet connection in a village hall or other communal building, and we can assist with training to help less IT proficient people to get online too.

Taxi Vouchers

Many communities find that taxi vouchers fit their needs very well. The scheme is simple: residents who have no other way of travelling are allocated a certain value of vouchers which they can use in full or part payment for taxi journeys. It especially suits very small communities where there are not enough people, or journeys made to justify a bus service.

Passenger Transport can help you to find and apply for the funding to get this scheme started, and support you in promoting it to your community – email passengertransport@wiltshire.gov.uk

Last updated: 4 May 2010