Whilst results on the pitch have been up and down recently for Swindon Town, this week the STFC Community Foundation won the 2021 EFL Community Project of the Season Award for League 2 at the Houses of Parliament.
The judges were blown away by Swindon Town’s ‘Project Me’ mentoring initiative in partnership with Barnardo’s, launched in response to the pandemic to support children with mild-to-moderate mental health concerns. It is a real credit to the STFC Community Foundation team to have gone above and beyond to support the wider community – a real credit to our town.
This week has marked the announcement of the Great British Rail Sale, offering over a million rail tickets for passengers at 50% off. The Government is acutely aware of global challenges many people are struggling with the cost of living right now, which is why across government we are taking action to help families with their day-to-day living costs. This is the first nationwide rail sale in history, offering passengers significant savings on journeys across Britain, including on trips between England, Scotland, and Wales. The discount will be available on selected Advance tickets from participating train companies or, Off-Peak tickets as an alternative on some routes. Customers can find out more by visiting nationalrail.co.uk/railsale. It is also part of the wider drive to encourage more people back to working in the office – vital for social mobility and supporting our High Streets who rely on footfall returning.
Running alongside the Great British Rail Sale is the search for a new headquarters for Great British Railways and with Swindon’s proud rail heritage we are rightly bidding. The shortlist will be announced in the next few weeks, and we need to demonstrate public support for the bid so I would encourage all to take part in the consultation once launched. Swindon’s bid is already supported by over 25 businesses and organisations in the town, with the Swindon Borough Council team pulling a fantastic bid and promotional materials. All bids will be measured against the following six key criteria: the location must be aligned to the Government’s levelling up objectives; the location must be connected and easy to get to; the location must provide opportunities for GBR; the location must have railway heritage and links to the network; the location must be value for money; and the location must have public support. Swindon meets all of these criteria and would be a fantastic place to host the new GBR headquarters.
Finally, this week marks Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday and I am sure all of us will want to extend our warmest wishes to her. Her Majesty has been a truly dedicated public servant and this year Her Majesty is celebrating her Platinum Jubilee - a first in British history. Throughout her time on throne, Her Majesty has visited Swindon on a number of occasions – the Swindon Town Centre Parade for our Jubilee celebrations; to open the Wyvern Theatre in 1971; to visit the Brunel Shopping Centre, Gorse Hill Infant School, and Lydiard House in 1997; and to open the Motorola factory at Groundwell in 1998. The official celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee are over the June Bank Holiday weekend (2nd-5th June) and it has been fantastic to see so many community events across Swindon being organised!
