The old minibuses, which are 16 seater LDV’s and still in good working order, are being given to Steve Brittan of the Avonmouth Rugby Club and Mike Lewis from the Lawrence Weston Youth Club at the significantly reduced price of £200 respectively.
The Academy was approached with several higher offers for the vehicles, but decided to do a deal with the local organisations after seeing how much they would benefit the community.
Mr Brittan is planning to put the first bus to good use transporting local sports teams to and from matches, and Mr Lewis is going to divide use of the second bus between the Lawrence Weston Youth Club and the Gateway School in Long Cross.
Academy HR and Finance Director Elaine Miller said: “We are thrilled to be able to send the old minibuses to such good homes. There is no point letting perfectly good vehicles like this go to waste or be broken down for scrap when other people could be getting some use out of them.
“The Academy has good links with both the Gateway School and the Lawrence Weston Youth Club, and we know the value of the work they do with young people in the local community. If these minibuses can help make their lives easier and help them to continue the good work that they do, then we are happy to offer them at a reduced price.”
Mike Pepper, Learning Support Assistant said: “We wanted to make sure that the minibuses went where they would be of most use to the local community. They are old, but there is still life in them, and we hope that the rugby club, the youth club and the Gateway will benefit from having them at their disposal.
“New minibuses are very expensive, and even second-hand you can expect to pay something like a thousand pounds for one without knowing what you are getting. Both parties paid a small figure for the buses, which have been recently MOT’d and we are happy to know that the vehicles will get to provide another few years of service for people who will get the most out of them.
“The youth club have plans to paint a graffiti-art mural on their bus, so keep your eyes peeled for it on the roads in the coming months!”
-ENDS-
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