Volunteers, Community and New Plans for Helsby Station
The Friends of Helsby Station are busy at work, with plenty of plans taking shape alongside the regular work that keeps the station looking welcoming throughout the year.
Throughout the summer, the group has been maintaining its colourful floral displays through a challenging period of hot and dry weather. With the help of a water trolley supplied by Transport for Wales, volunteers have been able to keep plants watered and healthy despite the difficult conditions.
Now that the rain has returned, growth around the station has picked up again. As a result, volunteers have been busy keeping everything neat and tidy, trimming vegetation and carrying out the regular maintenance needed to look after the displays.
It is work that can easily go unnoticed, but it makes an important contribution to the appearance of the station and the experience of passengers using it.
Preparing Helsby Station for spring
The group is already looking ahead to the next flowering season.
Daffodil bulbs have been planted ready to bring more colour to the station in spring, while further planting is planned over the coming months. Together, these displays help make the platforms feel cared for and welcoming while creating a stronger connection between the station and the local community.
There is more to come too.
Two or three new planters, funded by Transport for Wales, are expected to arrive during the next month. Once they are in place, the Friends group will begin working on them and developing the next additions to the station’s floral displays.
Projects such as these form part of North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership’s Stations in Their Place theme, which focuses on creating stations that are welcoming, vibrant and closely connected with the towns and villages they serve.
Looking again at the island platform garden
However, the Friends of Helsby Station have ambitions that go beyond planting and maintaining flowers.
Conversations are continuing with Transport for Wales about the small garden on the island platform. At present, the garden has been deemed unsuitable for volunteers to work in safely. Nevertheless, the hope is that, in the future, access can be agreed and the area can once again become a cared-for part of the station.
Bringing areas such as this back into use could provide another opportunity to improve the station environment while giving volunteers and local people something they can take pride in.
It is also a good example of how Friends groups work alongside rail industry partners. While volunteers bring enthusiasm, local knowledge and ideas, projects around stations also need to take account of safety, permissions and the operational railway environment.
Celebrating Helsby’s railway heritage
Another idea being explored is the possibility of commissioning a new piece of artwork for the building on the island platform.
The historic building forms part of Helsby Station’s distinctive railway character and provides an opportunity to tell more of the story of the station and the community that has grown around it.
Helsby has a long railway history. The station dates back to the arrival of the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway in 1849, while parts of the station have since received listed status.
Therefore, future artwork or interpretation could do more than improve the appearance of the platform. It could also help passengers and visitors discover more about the railway’s role in the development of Helsby and the surrounding area.
That connection between today’s railway and its history also supports another of the Partnership’s themes, Research, Education and Heritage, which aims to preserve and share the stories of our local railways.
A possible new future for the station building
On the main platform stands the former stationmaster’s house, built in the nineteenth century and now owned by Arch Co.
The Friends group is currently exploring possibilities for the building, including the longer-term idea of renovating the interior and creating a community tea room.
Although these discussions are still at an early stage, such a project could give the building a new role within the community. It could provide a place to support volunteers, welcome visitors and share more of Helsby Station’s history.
Importantly, it would also help strengthen the relationship between the station and the village beyond the railway itself.
Volunteers making a difference
From watering flowers during the hottest days of summer to developing ideas for gardens, artwork and historic buildings, the work of the Friends of Helsby Station demonstrates how volunteering can make a visible difference.
North Cheshire Community Rail Partnership is a volunteer-led organisation, and Friends groups are an important part of creating stations that communities can feel connected to and proud of. Volunteers contribute not only their time, but also local knowledge, ideas and enthusiasm for what their station could become.
There is plenty still to explore at Helsby, and some of the larger ideas will naturally take time to develop. However, alongside those ambitions, the everyday work continues.
Sometimes it is planting bulbs, sometimes it is watering flowers and sometimes it is simply keeping vegetation under control. Together, those small improvements help create a station that feels cared for.
And, as the Friends of Helsby Station continue looking towards the future, each of them contributes to our wider vision of Everyone Proud of Our Railways.
