A series of schemes to connect communities to their railways have won prestigious national rail awards.
The projects from station groups and Southeast Communities Rail Partnership (SCRP) were recognised by Community Rail Network in the annual awards ceremony held on Thursday (13 March).
Greening Arundel, a network of 15 organisations dedicated to enhancing the environment, was named as the station group which had made an Outstanding Contribution to Community Rail. Its activities have included establishing a picnic area, creating bug hotels and supporting a wildflower garden to thrive.
Friends of Bishopstone Station near Seaford on the Sussex Downs Line was a double winner with victory in the ‘It’s Your Station’ category at Silver level and picking up the Small Projects Award for organising a History Weekend. The group organised a series of talks and tours led by volunteers and local historians at the community hub at the station and turned an outlay of £108 into more than £500 in profit which has been invested in restoring the station buildings.
SCRP came second in the Best Community Engagement section for ‘A Town Explores A Book’ which celebrated the history of the construction of the railways paired with a wider project at St Leonards Warrior Square station to explore the contents of ‘The Railway Children’ book by E Nesbit.
Carole Beaty from Greening Arundel commented: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won this award. We do a range of work at the station, just over the last two years, to make us more sustainable, more biodiverse, more nature-friendly and to involve the community as much as possible.”
Barbara Mine, chief executive of Friends of Bishopstone Station, added: “It’s totally down to the team, they are an amazing team of volunteers and we are just absolutely delighted.”
SCRP director Kevin Boorman said: “The ‘A Town Explores a Book’ project involved lots of community engagement. It involved working with young people, people of a diverse background and some traveller groups. We really put a lot of work and effort with community groups into exploring ‘The Railway Children’ based on St Leonards Warrior Square.”
Tim Barkley, chair of Southeast Communities Rail Partnership Community Interest Company, said: “We are delighted that our projects proved to be winners with the wider Community Rail Network. Well done to all the people involved in these excellent schemes, in particular the dedicated volunteers who give up their time to make the stations in Sussex a welcoming space.
“The awards are recognition for the social value we bring to communities by making connections and working in partnership.”
The awards ceremony was held in Newcastle to coincide with the year-long anniversary in 2025 of 200 years of modern railways since the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened in 1825.
:: Hear from the station volunteers and SCRP director and line officer on our YouTube channel at this link.
