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Friday 17 Apr 2009

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AS POPPLETON RAILWAY NURSERY BLOOMS AGAIN

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Britain’s last surviving railway nursery in Poppleton, York is reopening its doors after a charitable group was set up to get it back in business. Now they're looking for volunteers to help keep it open.

The Poppleton Community Railway Nursery (PCRN) was set up after Jarvis informed Network Rail they no longer had any need for the old nursery. Jarvis provided funding for fencing the site to allow safe access for non-railway staff and Network Rail has granted a tenancy to PCRN at a peppercorn rent.

On 22 April will be an open evening at the nursery to seek volunteers and support from the local community. Tony Nunn, director of PCRN, said: "This day has been a long time coming and I would like to thanks our members and the community for their continued patience and support."

Potential volunteers are asked to come along at 6.30 pm on Wednesday 22 April to meet enthusiasts and hear about initial plans for the site.

Neil Barthorpe, account director for community rail at Network Rail, added: "I am delighted that the nursery will not only remain open but will be given a new lease of life through this agreement. This has been an unusual project and has taken some time to set up. It is a testament to the hard work and determination of all those involved that an agreement has been reached."

Staff and service users from a mental health rehabilitation team run by NHS North Yorkshire and York Community and Mental Health Services will be working in partnership with the nursery project. The team, currently based at Bootham in York is co-ordinated by Technical Instructor Paul Botting, who commented, “Our service users really benefit from this kind of work experience and from gaining new skills such as horticulture as part of their therapy, and to help them back to work. We are delighted to be involved in this project at Poppleton Railway Nursery”