A new accessible community garden has opened at Harwich Town rail station.
The official opening event was attended by people from the local community, including local councillors and schoolchildren who had been involved in the planting of the garden, as well as representatives of Greater Anglia, local organisations and the Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership (ESSCRP).
A ribbon was cut by Les Nicholls of NEST (North Essex Support Group), a local charity which supports families in poverty.
Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Nigel Spencer, then cut a Railway 200 birthday cake with his sword, before speeches and a performance of a sea shanty by the Harwich Shanty Crew, which had been specially written for the occasion.
The £15,000 project to restore a redundant area next to the station building was funded by the Essex & South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership (ESSCRP), the Community Rail Network’s Community Rail Development Fund and the Landguard Trust, and supported by the local community, Greater Anglia and Railscape.
The garden is fully accessible to wheelchair users and features seating, planters filled with pollinator-friendly floral displays, and artwork from the community.
In addition, thanks to funding from Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund, 18 boarded up windows in the station building along the platform have been refreshed and painted, and specially-made posters are now on display showing a timeline of historic images of Harwich and the railway from the last 200 years.
Images were provided by the Harwich Museum, the Harwich Society and local people.
Jane Stewart, ESSCRP officer, said: “We were delighted to officially open the garden on the 200th birthday of the modern railway. We are very grateful for the support of Greater Anglia and Community Rail Network to enable the community garden idea to come to life.
“What was a disused patch of wasteland at the beginning of the year has now become a vibrant community space for the whole town to enjoy.”
Paul Webster, Community Rail Network Support and development manager, said:
“Railway stations provide a gateway into their community and make a long-lasting impression for visitors, so turning this overgrown space into a pleasant and accessible welcome for all is great news for the town.
“Designing this garden as an inclusive space that all members of the community can be proud of and can use for their benefit really shows how the CRP is connecting the community to their railway for the benefit of everyone, even more importantly in this special year of railway celebrations and is a project we are really pleased to be able to support.”
Jonathan Denby, Greater Anglia’s Head of Corporate Affairs, said: “This great new public space will further enhance the positive role of the station in the town – and help to ensure it stays at the heart of the community, while also increasing awareness of the opportunities to catch a train for work, social and leisure purposes.
“It is another excellent example of the real benefits station adoption groups and community rail partnerships bring to our network. It also aligns with our strategy to increase biodiversity at our stations and make them really attractive gateways to their communities, as we play our full part in the region’s decarbonisation plans.”
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