24/1/2006 - Copeland's young commuters get further boost

Young commuters are set for a boost after Cumbria County Council’s Local Committee for Copeland handed over £5000 to the district’s Wheels to Work scheme.

The Wheels to Work project received the money from county councillor Ronnie Calvin in a presentation ceremony at Cleator Moor Civic Hall today. It will be used to fund three further mopeds including safety equipment and clothing for young people in the Copeland area.

A further feather in the cap is likely for the Copeland scheme as its success is set to see it expanded across Cumbria. 

The Wheels to Work (W2W) project is run by Connexions Cumbria and provides transport to help young people who live or work in rural areas commute to and from work, training or further education. This enables them to gain and maintain employment, which would otherwise prove impossible. W2W provides mopeds, protective clothing and helmets on six month loans for people between 16 and 20. 

Led by a partnership of Copeland Local Committee, Connexions Cumbria and the Countryside Agency the scheme was officially launched with the purchase of fifteen new 50cc scooters in February 2004. Three further scooters were purchased in February 2005. These scooters have helped 48 young people make their way into work education or training.

The success of the scheme in Copeland led to Connexions Cumbria launching a similar scheme in Allerdale in February 2005. Connexions Cumbria are now in final negotiations to roll the scheme out to the rest of Cumbria from April this year.

County councillor Ronnie Calvin, Chair of Copeland Local Committee says:

“Our young people deserve to be given the opportunity to get into a rewarding job, further education or training and we are committed to helping them achieve that. We are absolutely delighted to be able to help the Wheels to Work scheme again today. We helped to instigate the scheme in Cumbria and have continued to support it throughout its development.

Connexions Cumbria have acknowledged that they would not be in the position they are without our support and it is particularly rewarding to see a scheme that was tried and tested in Copeland all set to roll out across the rest of the county.”