Published on: Tuesday, 16 June 2015
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Sudbury rail station will continue to receive care and attention from community volunteers, after the existing station adopter stepped down.
Local couple, Anne and Bob Smith, will take on the role and will continue to tend to the station’s award-winning gardens.
Anne and Bob are already very active volunteers in the community helping with Sudbury Commons Land and two other local conservation groups.
They take over from John Sayers who has tended to the station as part of Abellio Greater Anglia’s Adopt-A-Station scheme for the past 10 years.
During this time, John has transformed the station gardens from an overgrown hedge to an award-winning garden which has provided a bright and attractive welcome to visitors to the town and delighted rail passengers.
John commented, “The role of station adopter has been enjoyable and challenging and I wish Bob and Anne every success in building on what has been achieved so far.”
Abellio Greater Anglia’s Area Customer Service Manager, Simi Tinubu, said, “I’d like to thank John for all his years of hard work and dedication as a station adopter and welcome Anne and Bob to the role. I look forward to working with them and hearing their ideas for the station.”
The ‘Adopt a Station’ scheme started in 2003 and enables individuals or groups to adopt their local railway station and contribute to its presentation and welfare for the benefit of the local community.
The voluntary scheme was originally created to improve lines of communication between the train operator and station users however, over the years it has grown to become much more, with station adopters now playing an active role in keeping stations looking good through inventive gardening projects, creative community art projects, taking part in station ‘health checks’ or being the eyes and ears of their station.
Over the years, station adopters have also played a key role in raising money for new initiatives, such as improved waiting facilities or planting beautiful station gardens.
Abellio Greater Anglia now has over 183 adopters at over 90 stations across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.