OUTSIDE the Box has joined the Community Rail Network and adopted Ben Rhydding station.

The Adopt-a-Station initiative is designed to help local communities to get the most from their stations, turning them into more welcoming gateways to the area.

Members of Outside the Box worked with volunteers from the local community to decorate Ben Rhydding station for Christmas. Decorations included their own handmade work created in the charity’s programme of arts, photography and printing workshops

Emily Moorhouse, a member from Outside the Box who took part in the station’s festive project said “It was really fun decorating the station and was good to work as a team”.

There are now more than a 1,000 station adoption groups operating nationally covering well over a third of Britain’s stations. The groups bring together people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to promote and enhance their adopted station with activities ranging from community planting and gardening to heritage and sustainable travel events.

The Outside The Box team members were accompanied by Charlotte Harris from Northern Rail who said: “We are really impressed with the time and effort invested into making the station look so festive and are looking forward to working with the Outside the Box team to do more in the future.”

Outside the Box, which is run by Ilkley Community Enterprise, provides training, work experience and a range of social and learning activities for adults and young people with learning disabilities. The station project is part of the charity’s OTB Community Connections initiative which aims to increase the local community involvement of people with learning disabilities.

Jenna Peel, the charity’s Operations Director said “It is fantastic to be part of the Adopt-a-Station scheme and great to see the real impact made by our members and volunteers on improving a local facility. Our recent work at Ben Rhydding has also helped our members to develop their independent travel skills and to feel very much part of their local community. We are now planning a number of community events and initiatives linked with the station and as part of our Community Connections initiative are actively looking for other community based projects in Ilkley and the surrounding area”.

Outside the Box is interested in hearing from community and voluntary groups, local organisations and employers who may have an idea for a community project. To discuss an idea or for more information about the Community Connections initiative contact Grace Deione, (OTB community and impact manager, on graced.outsidethebox@gmail.com.