The Friends of Ilkley Railway Station (FOIRS) have the ambition to create ‘the very best town rail and bus station in the UK’ in Ilkley and are now asking residents, visitors and businesses to 'get on board'.
FOIRS have been working with key stakeholders over the past 15 months to obtain their support for the groups future vision of the Victorian station with its many heritage features.
Over the coming months FOIRS will use a number of events, and social media to share its vision in the community including through the FOIRS website: foirs.co.uk, where feedback from the consultation survey will help firm up plans and priorities.
The group has been successful in getting funding to enable immediate repairs. The replacement of wooden fencing has been carried out on platforms 1 & 2 and the M&S car park now has metal barriers in place. There has also been repairs to the canopy and signage replaced at the entrance from the bus station.
Stephen Thornton, Chairman of Friends of Ilkley Rail Station said: “We now want to share our thoughts with the wider community of Ilkley to get your thoughts and priorities as either users or beneficiaries of the thousands of people who visit Ilkley using our public transport links.
“Our transport hub is Ilkley’s shop window and creates the all-important first impressions for visitors.”
A display of the FOIRS plans will be available to view at Ilkley library until the the end of February. Residents will be invited to an event in March, date/location to be decided, to offer people the chance to see the plans in person and discuss them with the FOIRS team.
The group say whilst support from key stakeholders for the vision has been achieved, it must be stressed at this stage any projects are not yet funded.
FOIRS are also in the process of adopting a small piece of land from Network Rail by the Railway Road entrance to turn into a ‘wild flower’ meadow. A volunteer’s day is planned on 18th April, more information will be available soon.
Stephen adds: “The team are excited for the year ahead and working with the local community on this exciting programme. In the meantime if you have any questions please contact us on our email friendsofilkleyrs@gmail.com”
The FOIRS survey is available on the group website: www.foirs.co.uk
The key stakeholders comprise of Network Rail, Northern Rail and West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) as well as Bradford Council, Ilkley BID and Ilkley Town Council.