Since it was formed in 2003, Kent CRP has grown from an initial five stations to a remarkable 31 across three lines – Swale Rail, Medway Valley and Kent Downs.

The partnership has delivered a vast range of projects over the past 22 years, from social inclusion and youth engagement to integrated travel and the redevelopment of station buildings. These include:

• Collaborating with Guide Dogs Maidstone for ‘Paws on the Platform’, an initiative that brought people with visual impairments together to share their experiences of accessing rail services and to discuss the ways in which challenges can be overcome;
• Empowering students with additional needs from Five Acre Wood Special School to adopt Snodland Station, improving the station environment through biodiversity and gardening projects, as well as vibrant artwork;
• Transforming Hollingbourne Station into a thriving community hub, winning third place in ‘Most Enhanced Railway Spaces’ at last year’s awards;
• Improving signposting for onward public transport from Medway stations and access for cyclists at stations on the Kent Downs Line;
• Partnered with Favesham Festival of Transport, Maidstone CycleFest and other local organisations to engage with the public about rail safety, days out by rail and volunteering opportunities;
• Supporting the growing network of station adopters along the three lines, including at Queenborough and West Malling;

We are delighted to present this award for outstanding contribution to community rail to Kent CRP – a partnership that continues to thrive year after year, meeting the needs of the wider community, and delivering incredible benefits on behalf of the community rail movement.

Greening Arundel is a passionate alliance of individuals and organisations dedicated to driving environmental change in Arundel. They believe in the power of collective action and community engagement to create a more sustainable, greener town for all.

Station adoption is just one of their many projects, delivered by 30 dedicated volunteers known as the Arundel Green Team. Their work is supported by the Southeast Communities Rail Partnership, Govia Thameslink Railway, Network Rail, Royal Horticultural Society and the South Downs National Park Authority, as well as dozens of local businesses, schools and the wider community.

To address the issues of poor signage and neglect on the footpath between the town and station, the group cleared the area, planted new saplings and bulbs and build mini bug hotels. Once overgrown and uninviting, the area is now a thriving wildlife corridor teeming with pollinators. Solar lighting and new signage have been installed, making the path and underpass area safer and more attractive for people travelling through.

The station’s crowning glory has been the creation of the ‘Sunflower Parade’, a community-wide art project paying homage to the beauty of nature. Schoolchildren grew sunflowers at home and planted them at the station, and local businesses sponsored individual colourful mosaics along the ‘parade’.

The team are currently working to create a community garden on previously unused space in the station forecourt. Paths and a picnic table have already been installed, with exciting plans to transform the space in 2025.

In just two years, the volunteers have transformed the station and its environs to create a safer, more welcoming space which encourages biodiversity, active travel and community engagement. They have had such a positive impact on their local in such a short space of time and as such are worthy winners of the Outstanding Contribution to Community Rail award.