Station Adoption Group Friday, 29 June 2007 Twenty-five people attended the inaugural meeting of Hebden Bridge Station Adoption Group on Tuesday 26th June to discuss what could be done to make the station an even greater asset to the town. They included members of Hebden Royd and Calderdale Councils and the Local History Society. The meeting was set up by the Upper Calder Valley Renaissance Sustainable Transport Group. Chairperson Lesley Mackay said: “We felt that while we are fortunate in the facilities at Hebden Bridge Station there is a lot that could be done to transform it into a truly great asset for the whole community. We also felt sure that members of the travelling public and the wider community would want to be involved in helping to make this happen.” Mary Clear from the Todmorden Station Partnership and Geoff Mitchell from the Mytholmroyd Station Partnership shared their experiences of setting up similar groups and described the improvements already achieved at those stations. Ideas put forward for Hebden Bridge Station included plantings, litter collections, repairing the station clock, displays of artwork and historical photographs, notice boards, a library, cycle hire, reinstatement of the station’s bell and restoration of the lift to the westbound platform. Dr. Mackay added: “We are very grateful for the support and assistance of Northern Rail and Hebden Royd’s Environmental Community Warden Jason Boom in helping to get this project off the ground. We were also pleased to receive a message of support from Chris McCafferty MP. We look forward to a productive partnership with individuals and community groups to make this new venture a big success.” Another meeting will be held on Tuesday 3rd July at 7.00pm to discuss how the group will be constituted and to prioritise some key projects, with a start being made on some practical activities from 6.00pm. New volunteers are most welcome.
|