Transport for Wales (TfW) is celebrating success for Nantwich and Neston stations at the twentieth Cheshire Best Kept Stations Awards.

Hosted on Thursday 16 March at The Grange Theatre, Northwich, the awards were presented by Mr. Brian Barnsley, Deputy Chief Executive of Community Rail Network, the umbrella organisation for the nationwide Community Rail movement.

Finalists from across the former county of Cheshire competed for eighteen awards in a variety of categories, ranging from regional awards to community engagement and best kept stations.

Nantwich station – which won the Merseyrail In Bloom Award in 2020 – won the Best Kept Garden Award, with its garden displays summed up by the judge as “an ongoing horticultural triumph”. Neston Station, which benefited from improvement works starting in 2019, was highly commended for the overall Cheshire West and Chester Award.

The awards are a recognition of the ongoing relationships Transport of Wales has developed with communities across the network, including the Station Adoption scheme which aims to help improve our links with local communities and customers living near unstaffed railway stations.

TfW is proud of its Station Adoption scheme, which involves more than 330 hard-working station adopters volunteering at 162 adopted railway stations across its network. The scheme is designed to encourage regular feedback about the facilities available and helps keep unstaffed stations clean and pleasant. It provides the opportunity to bring together groups of friends to create gardens and help alleviate social isolation and loneliness within our communities.

Mark Barker, Chair of Cheshire Best Kept Stations said: “Tonight’s Awards Evening is a celebration and a thank you for all the volunteers and community groups who do so much to brighten up our stations in Cheshire. We have seen some truly excellent work from volunteers and staff at stations right across Cheshire.”

Melanie Lawton, TfW’s Community Rail Manager (North), said: “Congratulations to our station adoption volunteers who give their time to improve our stations and make a huge difference. The stations look welcoming and feel safe, bringing a much-improved gateway to their town and better connecting communities to their railway.

“Here at TfW, crucial work is carried out by individuals who selflessly dedicate their time and efforts to support the services we offer. We’d like to say a big thank you to every single volunteer who has helped create this vision a reality.”