Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation (MFCF) has taken delivery of a bespoke specification Mellor Strata Ultra bus for its extensive community welfare programme across Teesside.

With an operational area serving rural villages and hamlets throughout East Cleveland, the Mellor Strata’s size-appropriate specification was a primary factor in MFCF’s decision to opt for the Rochdale-based brand. A bespoke interior layout is purpose-designed specifically to deliver health-check services for children and adults, and to serve as a mobile classroom for vulnerable adults and children with special educational needs.

MFCF’s Strata specification includes 21 Keil Ligero seats, full-length awning to the nearside, internal projector and screen stowed in the roof-lining, Xbox and Eberspacher heater. Special vinyls are also fitted to signal the 25th anniversary of the Foundation’s prominent social work and influence in the community, alongside marking Middlesbrough Football Clubs 25 years at the Riverside Stadium. The livery was designed and applied to the vehicle by 442Media, formally Shuttermedia.

Mellor was selected to supply the vehicle after an extensive evaluation which included a site visit by MFCF to Mellor’s production facility in Rochdale. Of particular appeal was the Mercedes chassis and driveline, with Mellor’s ‘built in Britain’ credentials an important factor in MCFC’s decision to select the Strata Ultra. MCFC is also eligible to recover some of its fuel costs through the government’s Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) scheme. The Mellor Strata is a highly flexible bus model with a range of interior configurations for up to a maximum of 30-passengers.

“The Mellor Strata Ultra ticked all the boxes for us,” said MFCF’s Bus Coordinator, Lee Harding, “The team at Mellor were really proactive and helped ensure that we received an exacting specification. The end result,” he said, “is a no-compromise vehicle which is ideal for the dual purpose of providing health checks in the community and as a mobile classroom. The Strata Ultra also suits perfectly our rural route profile, in terms of economy and operationally on the road.”