Water butts on platform two installation organised by our new station Manager, Pam Williams; many thanks Pam for organising this. Our gardeners are delighted in having these, as they now don’t have to fetch water for the plants.

The 12 FOUR HEATONS artwork panels kindly donated to FofHCS by Eamonn Murphy have now installed by Network Rail staff on the stairway to platform 2 at HCS. Thanks to Andy, Barry and Craig for fixing them for the Friends.

Christmas tree at Heaton Chapel Station, kindly donated by Rachel of Blaggs.

ACoRP awards 30 September 2016 – Southport.Due to our station collapsing and being scaffolded, stopping access to both our storage areas at platform level, FofHCS have been unable to enter for any ACoRP awards this year.However our chairman and two new deputy chairmen attended. We were introduced to the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rail Minister Paul Maynard, MP for Blackpool North & Cleveleys, and he was happy to take one of our HCS membership forms.

FofHCS volunteers have entered a Stihl Local Community Heros competition, and won a £500 commercial battery operated brushwood cutter.The station platforms and booking hall have no electricity or water supplies, so to date, all gardening tasks have been manually undetaken.This amazing STIHL brushwood cutter will greatly assist the loyal volunteers in our attempts to tame the long platform gardens and embankments.

15th November 2016

Work on the station roof repairs were completed by 10 March 2017.

In addition to the renewal of the two roof structures over the stairways, they are also took the opportunity to carry out a number of other improvements at the station:

·         Installation of art works at various locations. 

·         Re-application of the station’s white/yellow safety lines, including “Mind the Gap” stencils.

·         Replacement of LED Lighting throughout the internal staircase areas.

·         Renewal and repair of the timber window frames.

·         Renewal of the floor covering.

·         Refurbishment of balustrade.

·         Redecoration of the internal building.

ACoRP awards 30 September 2016 – Southport.

Due to our station collapsing and being scaffolded, stopping access to both our storage areas at platform level, FofHCS have been unable to enter for any ACoRP awards this year.

However our chairman and two new deputy chairmen attended. 

We were introduced to the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rail Minister Paul Maynard, MP for Blackpool North & Cleveleys, and he was happy to take one of our HCS membership forms.

HEATONS OPEN GARDENS 2016 – Sunday 15th May 12 – 5

ROTARY CLUB OF STOCKPORT LAMPLIGHTERS

A big thanks to all our FofHCS hard-working gardening volunteers.

FofHCS volunteers have entered a Stihl Local Community Heros competition, and won a £500 commercial battery operated brushwood cutter.

The station platforms and booking hall have no electricity or water supplies, so to date, all gardening tasks have been  manually undetaken.

This amazing STIHL brushwood cutter will greatly assist the loyal volunteers in our attempts to tame the long platform gardens and embankments.

More than 1,000 people explored hidden horticultural gems at the annual Heatons Open Gardens celebration, an event run by the Stockport Lamplighters Rotary Club.

‘Friends’ created a ‘pop up’ garden at Heaton Chapel Station in the old station master’s yard. Many volunteered over several days to convert a scruffy yard full of rubbish into a beautiful garden, for just one day.

The charity event also saw 16 private gardens, two arts studios and Heaton School on St James Road open to the public.

The event was reported in the Manchester Evening News. 

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/heatons-open-gardens-events-brings-…

Junk-strewn yard prior to the garden being created :

Totally overgrown bed on platform 1 cleared by one of our hard working volunteers [August 2014]11th March 2014, HCS enjoyed hosting about a dozen American students plus three adults from the Green Lane Evangelical church. They kindly provided a 2 stroke strimmer and an electric hedge trimmer/generator and worked hard planting bulbs and weeding the Heaton Chapel approach and ground reclamation at the Manchester end of the Moor platform. They filled three domestic green bins with brambles, two full white bags of brambles and a black bag with rubbish. John Taylor and Tony Ashurst kindly supervised all the work.