2019 Cheshire Best Kept Stations Annual Report

In 2019 we continued the range of ‘sponsorship packages’ to raise funds from the rail industry and were pleased with the generosity of the response. We attracted new local business sponsorship from Morris Homes of Wilmslow.  Northern were our  Main Sponsor in spite of their difficulties during the year. Without this welcome support the Best Kept Stations Awards would not be possible.

The 2019 Cheshire Best Kept Stations Awards were held at the Grange Theatre, Bradburns Lane, Hartford on Tuesday 28th January 2020 with special guest Kulvinder Bassi, Community Rail Team Leader at the Department for Transport. Approximately 150 people attended, including Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire – a long-time supporter of CBKS, and Mayoral representation from all eight of the Boroughs that now constitute the historic County of Cheshire.

We had some truly superb winners this year including:

Our overall winner for the year was Rose Hill for some splendid work involving the community and local business in decorating a long unattractive wall with hundreds of mini-murals, in celebrating the 150th anniversary of their line plus the usual high standard of gardening and the warm welcome that passengers always receive there. This is the first time that the overall winner has come from the metropolitan part of Cheshire.

We invited nominations for a new Award, the ACoRP Campaign & Communication Award. Goostrey were worthy winners with the completion of their long running campaign to restore and repair their almost unique station building. I would also highlight Handforth, winners of the Morris Homes Community Award for their  single-handed effort in successfully bidding to the DfT’s Access for All Fund for a £2.5m  scheme to install lifts. This is a remarkable achievement for a Station Friends Group. The John Hobbs award was presented to Frodsham and Runcorn stations in recognition of the work of North Cheshire Rail Users Group in restoring regular passenger services to the Halton Curve.

A special presentation was made to Sally Buttifant MBE in recognition of her 10 years work as Community Rail Officer for the Mid Cheshire Line and with CBKS.

Click here for a full list of  2019 winners.

I would particularly like to thank the hard work of the organising group; Secretary Chris Dale, Treasurer and Community Rail Officer Steve Forde, Community Rail Officer Marina Farey, Committee Members  Judie Collins, John Kitchen and Bob Withy, and not forgetting John Hulme as  our President.

It has been a joy to recognise and celebrate the hard work, enthusiasm, creativity and community spirit in the 2019 Awards.  2020 is going to be a very different year and we will do what we can to help rekindle all that energy when we can.

Please note becuase of Covid-19, our 2020 Annual General Meeting has been postponed until further notice.

Mark Barker
Chair
Cheshire Best Kept Stations
April 2020