Brinnington station in Stockport was recognised as an anti-social hotspot prior to Stewart Hall’s impressive work with his colleagues, which has brought the community together.
Stewart Hall, who is from Ramsbottom in Greater Manchester, has worked for Northern since 2008 and is currently working as a customer service assistant at Brinnington station which sees approximately 100,000 passengers each year.
Stewart and his colleague Darin Astbury tried and change the station’s plight and 12 Months ago, organised a ‘Swap Shop’ at the station in order to offer support to the local community, providing items needed such as food, clothing, books and household items.
The initiative proved to be very popular and saw over 1,000 people join a Facebook group which supported the scheme and now sees five volunteers organise donations. The project has even been able to fully furnish people’s homes who have come to the area with no possessions.
In praise of the scheme, Stewart has been credited along with colleagues for turning around the station in a documentary by BBC Radio 4’s award-winning current affairs programme ‘File on 4’, which aired on the 6th of June.
Stewart said: “When me and Darin started all this, I never thought I’d end up on Radio 4. For us, the ‘Swap Shop’ was about providing practical help to people living close to the station that were most in need.”
“As word spread throughout the community about what we were doing at the station, we saw a steady reduction in anti-social behaviour, which makes the station itself a more valued resource for the community who need to use the railway to get about.”
Craig Harrop, regional director for Northern, said: “Stewart and Darin are perfect examples of the positive impact each and every one of us can have on our community if we put our mind to it. Their actions – and those of other colleagues at the station and volunteers – are to be commended.”
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