Pictured above: Community Transport for Town and
Country (CT4TC) chief executive Patrick Dawson and Yorkshire Bank's
Mark Lupton check out one of the new mini-buses
Two organisations which provide a vital transport service to
people across Derbyshire have merged to create one of the county's
largest charities.
Amber Valley Community Transport and Chesterfield and District
Community Transport have been helping a range of local community
groups get from A to B for around 25 years and have joined forces
to become Community Transport for Town and Country
(CT4TC).
The independent charity now has more than 100 employees and a
further 130 volunteers and is expected to make around 275,000
journeys a year for its 22,000 registered passengers following the
merger.
And the award-winning charity, which has bases in Ripley and
Chesterfield, is also pressing on with its plans to expand with the
backing of Yorkshire Bank.
CT4TC, which has an annual turnover of £1.7 million, has
purchased two brand new Mercedes mini-buses funded by Yorkshire
Bank's Finanical Solutions Centre (FSC) in St Peter's Street,
Derby, as part of its Investing for Growth initiative.
CT4TC Chief executive Patrick Dawson said both the merger and
purchase of the new vehicles would greatly increase the
availability of transport services available to people across the
county.
"We provide a fantastic service and a lifeline to thousands of
people across Derbyshire, which can be from helping those with
mobility problems to get to the shops to picking up people who do
not have access to public transport, and I'm delighted the merger
has now been completed," he said.
"We are now one of the largest charities operating in Derbyshire
and I can only see us going from strength to strength as Community
Transport for Town and Country.
"Charities continue to be under a lot of pressure due to cuts in
funding and spending available, and those that are not commercially
minded will find it hard to survive, so we are very much planning
for our long-term future.
"The purchase of the new mini-buses is very much part of this
grand plan. It takes our fleet to more than 50 vehicles across both
sites and we are expecting to be in a position to buy a further
four or five buses early next year as well.
"The backing we've had from Yorkshire Bank over the years has
been superb and we're delighted with the package they have put
together on this deal and the strong support they have offered us
throughout the merger process."
Mark Lupton, business banking partner at Yorkshire Bank's Derby
FSC, said he was delighted the award-winning charity is building
for the future.
"It is fanatastic to see the new mini buses on the road and
already being used by elderly people, people with mobility problems
and other groups to help make their lives easier," he
said.
"Yorkshire Bank enjoyed a close working relationship with both
organisations prior to the merger, and we look forward to
continuing that partnership with Community Transport for Town and
Country.
"The bank's Investing for Growth initiative was launched to
provide flexible support to enable customers to invest in quality
growth opportunities and I'm delighted the charity has been able to
take advantage of this initiative."