Newtown ‘chuffed’ with its station

Newtown’s run-down Railway Station has had a community makeover, and it hasn’t cost the tax payer a penny.

 

The station’s broken and boarded up windows, which provided a drab welcome to visitors, have been replaced by a blaze of colour created by the town’s youngsters who answered a call from its Mayor.

 

The result is staggering and the town now has a pleasant pictorial display to be proud of, and one which provides a warm welcome to the hundreds of travellers that pass through the station every day.

 

“The end result is magnificent and a credit to the town’s young people,” said Town Mayor Joy Jones. “I travelled back to the town by train once and found the station looking terrible and neglected. The station is the first thing people see when they visit Newtown and I couldn’t blame them if they stayed on the train!

 

“It was depressing, so I called for a meeting with Arriva to see what could be done. I felt the town was getting a second rate service which is not good enough. I suggested things like the modern graffiti artists or something similar and they just told me ‘go on then!’.”

 

It set the wheels in motion and Mayor Jones enlisted the help of local businesses who chipped in £20 a piece into a station regeneration pot.

 

With the support of the Town Council, an initiative was launched with each of the town’s schools, youth centre and Coleg Powis tasked to recreate a piece of the town’s history on a display board provided.

 

Every one took up the challenge and the station has now been brightened up by 12 boards of exceptional quality capturing the story of Newtown from Pryce Jones and Robert Owen to Latham Park.

 

“It is better than we could have ever dreamed,” said Mayor Jones: “I have received so many lovely comments from visitors to the town. It is a delight to look at and has shown a real community spirit. I am hoping they will be displayed for a long time to come and we have an agreement that even when the building is let out we will still be able to display them on the platform side to visitors.”