New accessible minibus for young people at Portland charity

Portland Charity is specialist college, residential care provider and Centre of Excellence for Autism with a main campus in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.

The new 16-seat wheelchair accessible minibus will provide the college with more opportunities to transport learners between sites, provide easier access to medical appointments, offer access to community events, and other activities such as Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions that offer essential life skills development opportunities.

Dr Mark Dale, CEO and Principal at Portland Charity, highlighted the importance of the new minibus, stating: “We are very grateful to the hard work and generous donations achieved from both the Lord’s Taverners and Portland’s fundraising activities to enable this expansion of our fleet of vehicles with a brand new minibus. This new vehicle has increased the opportunity for learners to access the local community and improve their independence skills. We also use our fleet to transport local residents during evenings and weekends to access social and sporting activities at the College.”

Deputy Mayor, Craig Whitby, added: “The Lord’s Taverners charity does incredible work. This minibus is not just a vehicle. It’s a gateway to new opportunities, experiences, and friendships for the learners at Portland College. The College plays a vital role in our community by supporting and empowering young people with disabilities. This partnership exemplifies how working together can create significant positive change.”

Portland Charity applied for the new specially adapted minibus in 2019 but the pandemic and more recently, supply issues in the motor industry due to a lack of key components, Brexit, Covid-19 and most recently the war in Ukraine, led to the delay. Given there is no indication of when this may be resolved, costs increasing, new diesel vehicles being banned from 2030 and the greater demand for eco-friendly solutions such as electric vehicles, the Lord’s Taverners has taken the decision to honour any outstanding approved minibus applications while putting the rest of the programme on hold.

The delivery of the charity’s new strategy puts the primary focus on delivering impactful national cricket programmes that deliver life changing work in communities across the country. The charity will continue to work with those schools and colleges who have outstanding approved applications and look at ways in which support can be offered in finding alternative long-term transport solutions.