DARNALL STATION COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP

Published 15 April 2019 at 11:42am

Transport staff team up with local youngsters for a litter pick at local rail station.

Employees from South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) and Northern Rail were joined by over 40 volunteers for a litter pick at Darnall Station and the surrounding area on Wednesday 27 March.

“Darnall Station is not used as much as it could be - it’s one of the most underused stations in South Yorkshire - and has experienced anti-social behavior and graffiti issues. It’s really important to us that stations and interchanges are accessible and attractive to passengers, so our Rail Team has been busy working with partners, that actively involve the community, to see what improvements can be made. In Darnall, our aim was to help make the station an area that the locals can be proud of”, said Tim Taylor, Director of Customer Services at SYPTE.

Amongst the volunteers were young locals from Endeavor, a charity which works hands on with disaffected young people to empower them through social action, education and personal development.

The youngsters from Endeavor, many of who were from the surrounding area, lead the way on the day, collecting over 50 bags of litter. These youngsters have also recently adopted the station and put together an improvement plan to brighten the site up and encourage better usage.

“It is great that the youngsters from Endeavor have adopted the station”, Tim continued. “We’re really looking forward to working with them to make further improvements to the station.  Future plans include installing planters and improving signage which will hopefully encourage more people to travel from Darnall.”

Charlotte Kershaw, a placement student at Endeavour who helped organise the litter pick said: “The litter pick went really well, and we are all proud of the learners involved. Whilst we were doing the litter pick, members of the community who passed by congratulated the young people on what they were doing and said it was a massive improvement for the area. The young people could see what a positive contribution they made towards the day.”

Local neighborhood police, local residents and dedicated litter pickers from across the City also joined in. Community volunteer, Julie Gay and her husband Richard, from Totley, made the journey across the city to join in the litter pick too. “I’m part of the Sheffield Litter Pickers group. We’re a volunteer collective, made up of groups and individuals from all over Sheffield who are committed to keeping their communities clean”, explained Julie.  “Although Darnall isn’t my local area, I just hate litter, so I was keen to get involved and offer a helping hand to the Darnall Community. It’s a shame that the approach to the station is in such a state, but it’s great to see so many of the youngsters from Endeavour getting stuck in and doing their bit.”

Travel Advisors from SYPTE were also on hand on the day to answer any questions from passing residents and inform them on the destinations that can be reached from Darnall station. TravelMaster also supported the event by donating one day travel passes to give our enthusiastic volunteers a free public transport trial and an insight into the ticketing options available. Northern Rail were also able to engage with the youngsters and raise awareness of rail safety and behaviour on the network.