Community Rail Awards 2020

 

In 2019, Local Northern Rail managers were impressed with the community work put in at Hunmanby railway station, and suggested that the group should seriously consider putting an entry into the National Rail Awards.

This year, 2020, Friends of Hunmanby Railway Station have entered for the first time. By entering the Community Rail Awards it has been another way to involve local people and thank the wide range of local people and businesses who have helped to transform the village station over the last 15 years.

There are 13 categories, Friends of Hunmanby Railway Station submitted one entry into the Small Project Award, for a project costing £500 or less, sponsored by Community Rail Lancashire. In August 2020, Friends of Hunmanby Railway Station received news that they have been short listed, one of 7 stations on the National Rail Network.

This is the link to the stations short listeded for the Community Rail Awards 2020 from the Rail Business Daily Webpage

The award evening would have been held in Southampton; it is now taking place by 'Hopin' via the Internet. It is free for anyone to join. For further information on how to take part this link to the National Community Rail Awards will show you

The event gives details of many community projects at railway stations around the country which will be an uplifting evening. (A chance to miss the evening news for a night!) The event is about community, as well as being at a railway station. The projects may link with a station but will have involved a wide range of community organisation, involving people from different ages and backgrounds. Their ideas may well be an inspiration for local projects not just at a local railway station but in other community locations throughout the Borough of Scarborough. It is the range of individual projects, learning of innovative ways of involving people, especially in these challenging times, rather than winning an award that is the strength of the National Community Rail Awards.

This is the application, up to 6 photographs can be used as part of the submission.

Small Project Award (£500 or less)

Sponsored by Community Rail Lancashire

  

A low budget project, designed to raise awareness and increase passengers at this rural station. The challenge: Hunmanby station lacks a car park, with a 15 minutes' walk to the centre of the village. Having listened to village residents, to attract more use, the station needed to be attractive, safe, and welcoming, if people were expected to walk 20 minutes to wait for a train. Passengers in an evening were being put off by the gloomy appearance of the Hull bound platform.

Users would need to know about the new train service and how to use it.

The village has the potential to attract more visitors by train. A website was designed to make its attractions better known.

Produce an A4, simple, easy to read, Hunmanby village train timetable. The design incorporated village events and explained how to use the station as well as giving sample prices.

The key was to work with and involve the village community, residents of all ages and local businesses.

This culminated in a well-attended launch event at the village station.

Result of the project: By working in partnership with local village groups, residents and businesses, this led to a rise in passenger numbers.

 

 

Hunmanby station was scheduled to see the best train service in its history from May 2019, complimented by a ticket machine, new ‘turbo star’ trains, CCTV, waiting shelters, village community notice board and real time
information. The challenge the Friends group faced was how to generate more passengers to warrant this new service with the station’s challenging location. The key was to involve and ask for the help of local people and businesses.

 
To overcome the lack of a car park, the project focused on improving the passenger experience. The station was made a ‘gateway to the village’ using home grown plants. A new flower border was established to greet passengers at the entrance to the Scarborough platform, and another new border was added on the Hull platform to make this side of the station especially feel safer and attractive. The new waiting shelters were brightened up with a display of school children’s artwork. This has helped to make Hunmanby a Community station.

 
The strength the station has is its proximity to several accommodation providers. Hunmanby is an historic village, with good facilities and has the potential to attract more visitors by train, thus the Friends of Hunmanby Railway Station website. 

 

 

 

 

 

The project aimed to strengthen links with village residents, organisations, and local businesses by involvement. This was made easier due to investment in improved station facilities Northern Rail were starting to roll out at all stations they manage. 

A local social enterprise Coast & Vale Community Action funded the printing of the timetable and events guide. This was printed by Basic Plus, a local Adult Education Centre Charity. It involved contacting all village groups for details of their events. This involvement led to offers of support. 3,000 copies were produced, and 23 volunteers came forward to deliver the timetables door to door through every home in Hunmanby, and the
neighbouring villages of Muston, Reighton and Speeton. Each local business took copies to put on display for visitors to the area. This gave a chance to further explain how the station was being improved.

Hunmanby School’s Art Class produced artwork of the village attractions to display at the launch event. Our Parish, Borough and County Councils, and elected councillors, and our Local Member of Parliament, were all keen to support the project as part of a huge investment in rail provision for the village.

 

Photographs above: The exit from Platform 2, before and after

 

The project culminated in a launch event at the Station generating good publicity for the new train service.

Between May 2019 and March 2020 estimated passengers up by 30%

Unexpected developments:

With no station car park, Hunmanby station saw a huge rise in ‘kiss & ride’ (drop off/ pick up by other family members.) Resulting in many new train users

Since March, passenger numbers plummeted due to Coronavirus. Having a community website enabled the page attracting visitors to the village to be changed to give advice and support on keeping residents safe.
Friends of Hunmanby Railway Station, what Hunmanby has to offer page

The Station is now regarded as a ‘gateway’ to the village and has become a popular place to walk to during the Pandemic.

The project will form the foundations to rebuild passenger numbers once normally returns.

Costings:

Timetable /Event Guide £193.28.

Compost for flower borders £30

Initial plants donated by Reighton Nursery,
subsequent planting have been all home grown by village residents and are mostly perennial planting.

Decking boards and transport donated by Orchard Farm Holiday Village.

Half Moon planters donated by Hunmanby Community Centre.

Visitor attraction banner funded by Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery

New Sobriety Project wooden planters funded by Northern Rail

Website free from BT. 

 

Additional supporting documents supplied were the timetable and event guide and the two articles from the local Scarborough Evening News and Hunmanby & Filey Mercury

 

 

   Press coverage above: Top, Award of Silver Gilt Award, All Muck and Magic Scarborough Borough Council.

Below:  Hunmanby village launch of the new hourly train service May 2019 with our Member of Parliament, Kevin Hollinrake; Leader of Scarborough Council Councillor Steve Siddons; and Harvey Stockdale, Chairman of Hunmanby Parish Council.

 

 

The shortlisting for the award has helped to raise the profile of the village station and a great article has been written by our local Member of Parliament, who helped launch the village's improved train service in May 2019. There is also a nice comment from Councillor Jim Clark, Chairman of North Yorkshire County Council who visited the village in August 2020, and extended his trip to including Hunmanby railway station, Hunmanby Industrial Estate and Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery

link to

Kevin Hollinrake Webpage regarding shortlisting for National Community Rail Awards

Updated 22.10.2021