Plumpton station
In 2010 we were delighted to be invited by the Plumpton Village Action Plan (VAP) to put forward ideas for contributing to the fledgling Station Partnership Scheme with Southern Rail.
Southern and Plumpton VAP were planning to join forces to enhance the station and its environment as an asset to the village community. We proposed to clear and sow with wildflower seed the strip of scrubland along the London-bound platform and the enclosed area on the Eastbourne-bound side. Our suggestion was accepted and we were then faced with the challenge to deliver. The two areas of scrub were heavily overgrown with brambles and grasses, which took several strenuous sessions to cut back and clear. We then arranged a new management plan with Southern so that the wildflower areas would be cut in the late autumn, allowing the wild flowers to set seed, and again in the winter, to ensure the emerging shoots are not smothered in the spring. The cuttings have then to be raked up and removed, which is a twice-yearly effort with colleagues in the Station Partnership Scheme. For the past two years we have enjoyed some lovely displays of wild flowers along the platforms, despite the poor weather and some difficulties with introducing the new management plan. We have also installed sparrow and bat boxes on the two station buildings, and continue to explore the possibility of installing a nest box with a camera linked to a screen in the ticket office, to entertain passengers waiting for their trains. |