Rail group receives accolades

Members of the Friends of Bentham Station (FOBS) joined other guests at the Association of Community Rail Partnerships Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Nov 2016, 09:00 BST
Updated 16th Nov 2016, 14:58 BST
From left: Catherine Huddleston (CRP Officer), John Bearpark, (LASRUG, President), Gerald Townson (FOBS and LMCRP, Chairman) Simon Clarke (CR Development Officer), Pete Myers (Northern, Stakeholder Manager) and Stuart Ballard receiving the third place certificate for the Best Marketing Campaign for Rail to Trail, from Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Northern.From left: Catherine Huddleston (CRP Officer), John Bearpark, (LASRUG, President), Gerald Townson (FOBS and LMCRP, Chairman) Simon Clarke (CR Development Officer), Pete Myers (Northern, Stakeholder Manager) and Stuart Ballard receiving the third place certificate for the Best Marketing Campaign for Rail to Trail, from Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Northern.
From left: Catherine Huddleston (CRP Officer), John Bearpark, (LASRUG, President), Gerald Townson (FOBS and LMCRP, Chairman) Simon Clarke (CR Development Officer), Pete Myers (Northern, Stakeholder Manager) and Stuart Ballard receiving the third place certificate for the Best Marketing Campaign for Rail to Trail, from Alex Hynes, Managing Director of Northern.

This year the ceremony was held in the magnificent surroundings of the Floral Hall in Southport.

FOBS were delighted by a further duo of awards this year. In the ‘It’s Your Station’ category FOBS was awarded Gold Status for their extensive work at Bentham station and within the local community. They were one of only 11 groups at community rail stations nationwide to receive the honour.

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FOBS also scooped a further top prize by coming first in the ‘Best Community Engagement Event’ for their ‘A Day in the Life of Bentham’ photographic competition, held last summer, which proved to be an extremely popular event throughout the parish.

There was also joint success for the LMCRP, LASRUG, Northern and Stuart Ballard for their ‘Rail to Trail - 12 Station to Station Walks’ project. This was placed third in the ‘Best Marketing Campaign’ category. The linear walks designed by Stuart link the stations from Heysham Port to Skipton. They have been acknowledged by the Long Distance Walkers Association, as they form a 68 mile long-distance footpath.