A £204,000 project to refurbish Sleaford Station and convert the unused space into a community room has been completed.
The Poacher Line Community Rail Partnership (CRP) led the project, with funding and support from East Midlands Railway, the Railway Heritage Trust, Community Rail Network and CrossCountry.
The grand opening of ‘The Old Waiting Room’ at Sleaford Station took place on Wednesday 24 August. The once forgotten space has been transformed into two bright and welcoming rooms which will be an asset to the community, providing a place for local groups to meet and hold events, and local schools to learn about the railway. A new water harvesting system has been added to the building, so that station adopters can keep the site’s garden beds looking their best for passengers.
The rest of the station has also received a new coat of paint as part of the project. The painting was carried out in close collaboration with the Rail Heritage Trust to ensure the correct heritage colours of Buckingham Green and Cream were chosen.
Lisa Angus, Transition and Projects Director at East Midlands Railway, said: “We are pleased that the project has been finished and that the local community can now make use of the new facilities at the station.
Time Hedley-Jones, Executive Director at the Railway Heritage Trust, said: “We are very pleased to have supported this project with a grant to help restore this station. We are especially pleased with the quality of the repainting which has been undertaken to show off the station in its LNER heritage colours, and that rooms at the station have been brought back into community use.”
“The community room will provide a useful space for local organisation, schools, and volunteers. The repainting of the station in heritage colours also looks great and provides a good first impression of the town when customers use our services.”
Peter Roberts, Chair of the Poacher Line CRP, said: “The opening of the new room is great news, and it will really benefit local voluntary organisations around the town who need a convenient place to meet. We’re so pleased that we’re able to provide another community space for use in Sleaford.”
