LAUNCESTON’S community bus service has been awarded £500 by Persimmon Homes Cornwall to go towards funding a new website.

The Launceston Community Transport Partnership won funding through Persimmon Homes’ Community Champions Scheme, which began last year to allow charities and groups to apply for funding up to the value of £1,000 to match money they have already raised themselves.

Nationally, the company has donated approximately £750,000 across the UK in the first year of the programme.

The Little Red Bus scheme was introduced in 2008 to allow people around Launceston to get to towns and villages that weren’t serviced by public transport. The scheme relies solely on volunteers and needs to update its website to provide updated information for its users.

Joan Philp, a trustee for Launceston Community Transport Partnership, said: “Our service operates four days a week and we help people who need to make trips around parts of Cornwall and into Devon.

“We have been running for eight years, after Cornwall County Council gave us our start up funding, and we’ve continued ever since. Our whole operation is reliant on volunteers and this includes the bus drivers too.

“The website has been in need of an upgrade for some time, and it is important for people to be able to get from it the information they require.

“We are grateful for Persimmon Homes Cornwall’s donation, and it enables us to grow as an organisation.”

Daniel Heathcote, the director in charge at Persimmon Homes Cornwall, added: “We were delighted to be able to make this donation to Launceston Community Transport Partnership.

“We were very keen to help the partnership in any way, as the service they provide helps so many people in and around Launceston.”