Our Objectives
Rees Jeffreys Road Fund’s objectives are to encourage and promote better and safer roads, through design, engineering and aesthetics, leading to enhanced experience for everyone.
We do this principally by:
- funding projects, research and events; and
- awarding bursaries to individuals pursuing relevant professional qualifications.
Our charitable Objects:
William Rees Jeffreys wanted to provide for his life’s work to be carried on after his death. His estate funded the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund which has the following charitable Objects:
- To assist the provision of educational activities and access to studies that would lead to improvements in the design of highways and adjoining land.
- To promote engagement, co-ordination and the interchange of ideas between the designers and manufacturers of road vehicles, the land-use planning profession and highway engineers.
- To encourage and promote improvements to the design, efficiency and safety of highways.
- To conserve and enhance the visual and environmental quality and diversity of the roadside environment.
Why the Road Fund was created:
Rees Jeffreys was not just interested in the existence of roads or their basic functionality. In the early part of his career, the improvement he promoted was the sealing of the road surface, before which clouds of dust in summer and mud in winter made the roads hard to use, and therefore created nuisance and health hazards for people in adjoining properties.
He was also clear that the design of the road was a significant contributory factor to the worryingly high incidence of crashes, casualties and deaths that came with the growth of road traffic.
He went on to consider how roads and associated structures could be more sympathetically designed, and to include roadside parks as places to stop and admire the view.
Rees Jeffreys Road Fund today:
The Trustees have prepared a modern restatement of the Fund’s Objects. This is to ensure they remain relevant and understandable to applicants and other interested parties.
This remains true to the original purposes of the Fund whilst providing a clear picture of the work it is currently looking to support.