Boost for Wickham Market station following grant

Published on: Tuesday, 1 September 2015
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016


Passengers at a Suffolk railway station areset to benefit from better waiting facilities after it was awarded a grant tobuild a canopy.


The East Suffolk Lines Community RailPartnership (ESLCRP) has been successful in securing a £25,000 grant forStation House Community Connections to help restore the canopy at Wickham MarketRail Station in Campsea Ashe.

The canopy at The Abellio Greater Angliastation was removed in the 1970s. The grant will go toward restoring theplatform canopy to provide a convenient place for passengers to wait for theirtrain.

The ESLCRP was awarded the money by theAssociation of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) who administer a designatedfund on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Aaron Taffera, Chairman of the East SuffolkLines Community Rail Partnership, said: "We’re very happy that the EastSuffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership is able to provide this grant to helprestore the canopy at Wickham Market Station. As a Designated Community RailService the East Suffolk Line is able to benefit from funding that helps makeimprovements to the stations, facilities, and service. Passengers will see realbenefits from this scheme and the continuing work of the CRP."

Brian Barnsley, Operations Manager ACoRP,said: “The Association of Community Rail Partnerships and the partners of theDesignated Community Rail Development Fund are delighted to support there-instatement of the station canopy at Wickham Market station with a grantfrom the fund. We look forward to seeing the work progress and indeed the fullrestoration of the Station House.”

Station House Community Connections is anot-for-profit group restoring the now vacant station for community use whowill use the grant to begin the process of building the new canopy which willalso see the commissioning of three spandrels as supports.

Robert Webb, Chairman of Station HouseCommunity Connections, said: “The funding via the Community Rail Partnership willcontribute to the building of the renewed canopy at the Station House and is afantastic boost to our objective of bringing the building back into use as acommunity facility. It will provide practical benefits to station users andrenew the identity and sense of place to this new and exciting communityresource.”