Disabled volunteers adopt Essex railway station

A team of volunteers is set to make Thorpe-le-Soken railway station in Essex brighter and more welcoming.

CoCoCare – a vocational day service for disabled adults, based in nearby Colchester – will work with Greater Anglia and the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership to transform the station's platforms with plants and artwork.

CoCoCare members will become ‘station adopters' and will be involved in activities to enhance the station, which lies on the Colchester to Clacton branch line. They will also look after two flower tubs at Walton-on-the-Naze station on the Essex coast to support the existing station adopters there.

Greater Anglia will provide funds to help with the costs of small projects, tools and materials through its Station Adoption initiative. The group will also be supported by the Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership, which works to promote six branch lines in Essex and to build mutually beneficial links with the community.

Greater Anglia's Station Adoption scheme facilitates individuals or groups to adopt their local railway station and contribute to its use and welfare for the benefit of their community. Station adopters work with Greater Anglia to make stations more welcoming by making improvements, and caring for gardens and floral displays to benefit local wildlife.

Since the scheme began twenty years ago, station adopters have played an active role in keeping stations looking good through inventive gardening projects, wildlife-friendly initiatives, creative community art projects, taking part in station ‘health checks', being the eyes and ears of their station and encouraging links between the station and local communities.

Sacha Berjaoui, Facilitator at CoCoCare, said, “We're driven to be part of our local communities and as such are really pleased to be involved in adopting the local stations at Walton-on-the-Naze and Thorpe-le-Soken that are so important to linking our communities together.

“As part of our adoption plans we look forward to planting and maintaining pots, beds and borders, creating thought provoking and inspirational artwork and keeping the stations neat, tidy and welcoming places.

“We want people who use these stations to find their time there a pleasurable experience and we're really keen to get started and be a part of this fantastic initiative.”

Alan Neville, Greater Anglia's Customer and Community Engagement Manager, said, “I'm delighted to welcome the new volunteers to the Station Adoption initiative and look forward to seeing their plans for the station come to life.”