FOCUS

FOCUS – A brief history

2007

FOCUS was started in October 2007. Our aims are to enhance the station and its environs and to improve the rail service.

We circulated the whole of Cantley with a membership form with a joining fee of £1 minimum and collected £67. The Parish Council donated £100 from their recycling fund and other money was raised at a Christmas Bazaar. We raised a total of £224 during 07/08 which was match funded for £224 by the Wherry Lines in April 2008.

2008

We started work on the Station in January 2008 as we had had to wait for a Health and Safety training session from National Express.

We concentrated on cultivating the flower bed between the waiting room and Station Road on platform 2 and generally tidying the rest of the Station.

We planted a lavender hedge as well as other shrubs, hyacinths and polyanthus plants. We are keeping other areas mown until we cultivate them further.

We obtained a lease in November 2008 with Wherry Housing for a piece of land in Station Road, adjacent to the Station, that we use for composting.

At the annual National Express East Anglia ‘Adopt a Station Awards’ Cantley was given the ward Most Improved Small Station 2008 which included £100 of garden vouchers.

2009

In March 2009 we planted over 100 shrubs, starting at the Church Road end of Platform 2. In the autumn we planted over 1000 daffodils in the grass in front of them.

In March 2009 we adopted the rather dilapidated Lamp Hut from Network Rail. We then set about restoring it. As far as we know this was the first Network Rail building to be leased to a rail user group.

At the annual National Express East Anglia ‘Adopt a Station Awards’ Cantley was awarded the certificate for “Highly Commended Small Station 2009”

We moved our red dahlias to form a single bed.

2010

Having cultivated the first bed on the west of the Waiting room on platform 2 and planted the dahlias further along we decided to cut a section along the front of all three beds and form a continuous row of lavender (150 plants) with hyacinths and polyanthus.

2011

The waiting room on Platform 2 was refurbished by Network Rail.

The 10 mile marker post was restored by us.

The National Express East Anglia ‘Adopt a Station’ Awards were held at the King’s Centre in Norwich. Cantley was awarded the certificate for Runner up Small Station 2011 and we also received the Judges Special Award which included a set of stainless steel hand tools.

We meet every Wednesday and Saturday morning. If you like gardening, chatting, drinking coffee and eating home-made biscuits or cakes then please come along and join us.

FOCUS CHAIRMAN RAY SMITH 01493 700539
FOCUS TREASURER ROBERT BEADLE 01493 701231

Please click here for a membership form

FOCUS is supported by the Wherry Lines
www.wherrylines.org.uk