Liam Weatherill

Liam Weatherill received a BAT Bursary of £1,592 towards course fees so that he could gain his CILT Level Three Certificate in Passenger and Community Transport.

As the Project Manager of East Durham Community Transport, Liam was looking for a way to increase the amount of self generated income for the organisation as grant funding decreased. The obvious choice was through the provision of services on commercial routes, but in order to do this the organisation needed to obtain a full ‘Operator O Licence’.

A commercial operation would ensure the organisations ability to offer services to voluntary/community groups at a significantly reduced rate and support its charitable objectives. Successfully providing this service would also ensure the longevity and stability of the organisation.

The BAT Bursary funding enabled Liam to undertake the CILT CPC Transport course through Durham Logistics College on a distance learning basis.

The funding has been a great benefit to East Durham Community Transport. Liam’s training is the first step towards obtaining the full operators O Licence required to ensure that the organisation protects its long term future through social enterprise, continuing to provide accessible, affordable transport for the local communities.

‘Thank you, the grant I received through the British American Tobacco Skills Development Bursary Programme has enabled me to undertake the CILT CPC Transport Course which is the first step towards protecting the future of East Durham Community Transport’.

During the time he has worked for East Durham Community Transport, Liam has raised over £1 million in grants and service charges to support and sustain Community Transport in East Durham. At present, the organisation assists over 150 groups with around 2000 beneficiaries in total.

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