Greater Anglia (GA) is asking local residents to get involved as community volunteers to help improve their local railway stations.
The operator has vacancies for ‘station adopters' at seven rail stations in Hertfordshire and Greater London:
GA hopes that individuals, community organisations or local councils who want to improve their local rail station and bring it into the heart of the community will come forward with ideas. It provides funding to help cover the costs of small projects, tools, and materials to help improve the station environment, but does not pay people for the work they carry out.
The operator launched its station adoption programme in East Anglia in 2003, and rates it as “a great success”, arguing that it enables individuals or groups to contribute to station presentation and welfare for the benefit of the local community.
The scheme originally aimed to improve communication between the train operator and station users. However, its scope has widened, and station adopters now play an active role in keeping stations looking good. Initiatives such as gardening projects create an attractive welcome and support local wildlife and biodiversity. Other activities have included creative community art projects, taking part in station ‘health checks' or being the ‘eyes and ears' of their station.
Station adopters have also raised money for new initiatives, such as improved waiting facilities.
Greater Anglia hosts an annual awards event to recognise the contribution of its station adopters.
Most of Greater Anglia's stations are adopted, but the company is now looking for adopters for the last few that are not. Anyone interested in adopting their station should contact Alan Neville at alan.neville@greateranglia.co.uk
Alan, who is Greater Anglia's Customer and Community Engagement Manager, said, “We would love to see every station on the network adopted as it makes such a positive difference when the community is actively involved in their local station.
“Station adoption creates mutually beneficial relationships and dialogue to help us understand what improvements are important to local people and promotes civic pride and wellbeing by bringing people together and enhancing public spaces.”
Greater Anglia now has over 330 adopters at over 125 stations across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
