Tramlines Festival funds over £30,000 for community projects and unveils new tree avenue in Hillsborough Park

With funding awarded to 36 projects, the trust continues its mission to support initiatives in areas such as youth development, environmental conservation, and mental health. Around half of the total funding is going directly to the Hillsborough area, where the festival is held.

Some recipients include A Mind Apart, which provides inclusive theatre education; Kids Plant Trees, a group dedicated to youth-led tree planting; Holme Lane Community Garden, which will expand its urban garden; Hillsborough Pumas Under 12s, Hillsborough Arena Sports Association and Hillsborough Hornets Disability FC, who will use grants to boost facilities and opportunities for youth in sports.

In collaboration with Sheffield City Council Community Forestry, Tramlines is also funding a new avenue of 11 lime trees to be planted in Hillsborough Park. Students from Hillsborough Primary School are helping to plant some of the trees on November 20, with the rest going in on November 27.

Tramlines has been based at Hillsborough Park since 2018 and has funded a variety of projects to improve the park during this time. The new avenue of trees will create a visible positive impact on the park for years to come.

Timm Cleasby, Tramlines’ director of operations, said: “As ever, I’m so proud to see the many projects in the local area which are helping people in many different ways. 

“There are hundreds of people in this city who work hard every day to improve and support others. I'm glad that Tramlines can contribute to this work. I see this as an essential part of the festival and can’t wait to see the new avenue of trees planted later this month.”

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Councillor Richard Williams, Chair of the Charity Trustee Sub-Committee at Sheffield City Council, said “The benefits of Tramlines to the city goes beyond music, culture and exposure.

“The festival organisers raise funds for Sheffield-based charities and have this year donated 11 new trees to Hillsborough Park. Our trees are our finest assets, supporting our wildlife and biodiversity, our health and wellbeing, and protecting us from the effects of climate change.

“As one of the greenest cities in Europe, wherever you are in this city you’re never far from a tree and we have ambitions to increase that even more, investing in our tree stock now so that we have a rich and diverse tree population in the future.

“We’re really grateful for the partnership work and support we’ve had from Tramlines and it’s great to see that our Community Forestry team will be joined by local primary school children to plant the trees later this month.”

In addition to its funding initiatives, Tramlines has dedicated itself to providing opportunities for Sheffield’s local talent and widening access to the festival.

Since 2018, the festival has donated over 1,500 tickets to local charities, including Tickets for Good and Sheffield Young Carers. On the local music front, Tramlines has also provided 296 performance slots to Sheffield-based artists, with over 50 of these slots allocated to emerging talent through its ‘Apply to Play’ programme.

This focus on fostering new artists was recognised with Tramlines winning the 2023 UK Festival Award for ‘Best Festival for Emerging Talent’.

Tramlines also proudly collaborates with local initiatives like Pattern + Push, Slambarz, Under the Stars, and The Leadmill, with a special milestone this year as the Leadmill Studio Orchestra—a 50-piece ensemble of young musicians aged 14-18—made its main stage debut.

Applications for the 2025 funding cycle open in spring. For more details on the Tramlines Trust including details on how to apply when the process begins next year, please click here.

Tramlines 2025 will take place from 25 - 27 July at Hillsborough Park. Early bird tickets will go back on sale once the line-up is launched. To be the first to hear about the next wave of tickets, please visit - https://mailchi.mp/tramlines/2025news