The New River Line Community Rail Partnership | St Margarets Station Art

At French & Jupps we strive to support our community through the sponsorship of innovative ideas, partnering with community lead initiatives that make our local and surrounding area so vibrant.

In acknowledgement of the hard work of all those involved with our latest sponsorship it brings us great delight to announce the unveiling of the refurbishment of St Margarets train station in Stanstead Abbotts.

The refurbishment of St Margarets station and signal box was a concept driven by The New River Line Community Rail Partnership. The Community Rail Partnership (CRP) was formally established in January 2020 by local authorities, community groups and organisations working in partnership with Greater Anglia and other rail networks to enhance station platforms up and down the country.

At the centre of this initiative for our local area is Katie Goldthorpe, CRP Officer for the New River Line which covers all stations from Hertford East to Broxbourne. Katie not only works for the organisation but also lives in Stanstead Abbotts and had long thought that the signal box could be transformed at St Margarets. It was when she joined the CRP in 2020, she seized the opportunity to do something with it.

To commence the process, Katie contacted French & Jupps to propose sponsoring the redesign of the station platform with art, which was enthusiastically received by director Paul King. From there the campaign was launched on the Stanstead Abbotts community Facebook page in addition to posters being pinned up on village noticeboards requesting submissions from people within the area to submit original artworks the redesign.

The response was fantastic, with local residents and two local primary schools St John the Baptist and St Andrew’s Primary School getting involved. The result is stunning with the twelve art pieces in a variety of mediums being chosen and printed by local company Universal Signs.

Katie’s work doesn’t end there. She had also been working with Rosemary & Robin to bring new life to the station through a planting scheme introducing foliage onto the station platform. The tireless work of all involved culminated in the annual station adoption award being granted at the unveiling by Alan Neville, Community Engagement Manager, Greater Anglia.

Overall, the day was a great success, enhanced further by the generous offering of cakes and refreshments provided by local businesses Libby’s Coffee Shop and The Galley Hall pub in a true reflection of community spirit. 

We believe the results are spectacular and that the return to travel from our local station is made all the brighter as a result of their hard work.

To get involved and support this local cause on some of their upcoming projects, you can contact The New River Line Community Rail Partnership on: newriverline@hertfordshire.gov.uk 

You can also follow The New River Line Community Rail Partnership on Facebook and Twitter

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