Saxmundham Waiting Room Transformation
The waiting room at Saxmundham station has been turned into a welcoming community space thanks to a £6,500 grant from Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund.
The initiative to transform the space into a bright, vibrant area celebrating local art and community spirit was spearheaded by the East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership following a spate of vandalism. The project brought together schoolchildren, poets, and artists from Saxmundham and the surrounding area.
Children from Saxmundham Primary School created colourful artwork featuring flowers and swallows, while local artists helped redesign the space, painting the walls a joyful shade of blue adorned with swallows, the Greater Anglia hare, and a locally inspired poem.
To mark the completion, parents, children, and members of the community gathered for a celebratory opening event, which featured singing, goody bags, locally baked cupcakes, and a red-ribbon ceremony.
The event not only celebrated the renovation but also highlighted the power of community collaboration, creativity, and Greater Anglia’s continued commitment to improving customer experience across its network.
Greater Anglia’s Partnerships Manager, Scott Dolling, said:
“We are pleased to support this initiative to help enhance our station. We are always looking to strengthen the role of the railway in supporting the communities we serve, and our Customer and Community Improvement Fund allows us to back locally led projects that meet community needs.
“Refurbishing the waiting room at Saxmundham station in this way has given local artists and schoolchildren a creative role, and our experience shows that community artwork like this can help prevent further vandalism.”
Thalia Woodgate, East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership Officer, said:
“We are delighted to have been able to refurbish the station thanks to Greater Anglia and the efforts of the local community. Hopefully, this project will help restore a sense of pride and ownership in Saxmundham.”
Greater Anglia is funding 28 community projects in the second year of its Customer and Community Improvement Fund initiative.
Grants of up to £50,000 were available, with the train operator pledging a total of £350,000 this financial year, to projects across the Greater Anglia network as part of its ongoing support for communities in East Anglia.
Grants have been awarded to a wide range of projects that benefit both the community and the railway – from small-scale station enhancements to integrated transport projects, and schemes to introduce new or disadvantaged groups to rail travel. Funding has also been awarded to education projects, biodiversity projects, arts and heritage schemes, tourism initiatives, as well as other ideas that help to promote rail services amongst local communities.
This scheme is aimed at supporting initiatives which deliver community benefits and enhance the railway’s positive role in society. Applications were received from local organisations and bodies, such as community rail partnerships, station adopters, local authorities, parish councils, community groups, charities, and other stakeholders along the routes served by the train operator.