Oxford’s event organisers are being encouraged to pitch for £10,000 to stage two community events in Broad Street, following the Council’s successful bid to the Great Western Railway Community Fund.
Oxford City Council successfully bid to the Great Western Railway Community Fund for the funding, which GWR set up to support projects that benefit the community or address an area of social need across its network area.
The council is putting a call out to community event organisers for expressions of interest by 21 October to run community events in Broad Street between the beginning of November 2022 and the end of February 2023. £5,000 per event is available for a maximum of 2 events, organisers can apply to run one event or two separate events.
Events proposals should aim to meet the following criteria:
- Bring diverse communities together in an inclusive way and be free of charge to the public
- Raise awareness of the environment including the benefits of rail travel and other active travel opportunities
- Promote positive physical and mental health and wellbeing
- Attract rail users to Oxford and increase visitor dwell time
This project builds on the success of a community event programme that was held in Broad Street in 2021. 16 free community events took place in the newly redesigned Broad Meadow space including a World in Oxford Day, Chance to Dance, Go Active Families Day, Big Green Day Out and Youth Takeover Day.
This opportunity coincides with the extended Broad Street project, which provides a larger public space for the local community, businesses and event organisers to use throughout the year, for an experimental period from autumn 2022 to spring 2024.
“This is a great opportunity for Oxford to be inspired by more wonderful events in the new Broad Street space. We’re grateful to GWR for this commitment to the communities in its region that goes beyond its own business. If you’re a community event organiser, get in touch with your ideas and tell us how you would bring Broad Street alive with this extra funding.”
Councillor Shaista Aziz, Cabinet Member for Inclusive Communities and Culture
“The Community Fund is a brilliant opportunity for us to invest in our communities in projects that really make a difference at a local level.
“Oxford is one of the most popular destinations on the GWR network and we hope this funding will help to encourage some fantastic community events in Broad Street and attract even more visitors to the city.”
Tom Pierpoint, Business Development Director at GWR
Rate this page
