Community Legacy Fund

The success of the fund has supported its expansion across our Major Projects and Operations divisions, enabling us to be a good neighbour to even more communities across the strategic road network. 

By investing in initiatives that address local needs and priorities, the Community Legacy Fund helps create meaningful, long-term outcomes and leaves a positive legacy that endures long after our work has been completed. 

These grants aim to maximise the delivery of social value through supporting local community projects which have been impacted by our roadworks or diversions. The fund is for smaller-scale social value projects ranging from £500 up to £10,000. 

In 2025-26, we received 26 applications impacted by the Regional Investment Programme and 13 applications impacted by operations. Thirty-seven applications were approved, awarding a total of nearly £295,000 in grants. 

Successful applicants receive their grants and in turn provide the opportunity to embark on a project that has been determined to have an impact on communities for years to come.  

Examples of these projects include bespoke woodland sculptures for a picnic site in Round Howe Woods in North Yorkshire, upgrades and tools for various Men’s Sheds schemes across the country to help combat loneliness among men, new books to improve reading skills for schoolchildren in East Anglia and a new, safer playground for pupils at a primary school on the outskirts of Manchester.