Tree planting transforms approach road to Long Buckby station

Dozens of young trees have been planted along the approach road to Long Buckby station near Daventry in Northamptonshire.

The tree planting was made possible thanks to a community grant from London Northwestern Railway.

The project, titled “Trees for Station Road”, saw dedicated volunteers plant the trees along the approach road to the station thanks to a partnership between London Northwestern Railway (LNR) and community volunteers. Among the varieties planted at the site are cherry trees, mountain ash, grey alder, and silver birch. The cherry trees have been provided as part of a scheme run by the Japanese government.

The project is part of LNR’s “Your Community, Your Fund” scheme, funded by the Department for Transport. Under the scheme, LNR and sister company West Midlands Railway are investing £1.7million in dozens of community projects across the rail network.

Chris Heaton-Harris MP, whose Daventry constituency includes Long Buckby station, recently visited the project last week to see the volunteers in action and said “I was delighted to visit this fantastic initiative and see for myself the hard work of a wonderful team of volunteers. Their work will improve the appearance of the area, absorb pollution and attract wildlife.

“I would like to say a big thank you to London Northwestern Railway for supporting the project and I look forward to seeing the trees blossom.”

Tim Bellenger, LNR head of stakeholder and community, said: “Making our stations warm and welcoming for our customers is incredibly important and we were delighted to support our fantastic team of volunteers at Long Buckby.

“Schemes like this do brilliant work in developing a positive, enjoyable travelling experience for rail users and local residents and we are so grateful for the hard work of our volunteers who give up their time to bring the project to life.”

All involved with the Trees for Station Road group, including chair Maria Summerscale, Lillian Wright from the fundraising committee, and parish council supporters, were delighted to have been able to help make Station Road a greener and brighter approach, and with an improved ecological environment.