The creation of a heritage quarter at Lowestoft railway station has taken another significant step forward after property services contractors Bell provided support to the project.
Engineers from the company spent six days in July helping to restore an historic pair of railway gates which now form a sixty-foot backdrop to the site located in the short stay car park of Lowestoft station.
Centred on a section of rails which once led to the harbour and fish market, the gates have become a familiar sight to visitors in recent years, and the work has seen them restored and repainted.
The project is being undertaken by the Lowestoft Central Project and Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership and in recent years the initiative has welcomed support from Balfour Beatty Rail, Network Rail and, in September 2024 a number of volunteers from the Great British Railways transition team. Rail operator Greater Anglia has assisted by resurfacing and relining the car park, creating short-stay parking bays enabling passengers to be dropped off and picked up from the station and re-opened the link leading from the station concourse.
Darren Stannard, a manager at Bell learned of the project through Phil Hogg, project delivery site manager at Greater Anglia whilst undertaking works at Lowestoft station last autumn and kindly offered their support with their specialist carpenters, Marc Knights & Gary Herring spending six days during late July restoring and refurbishing the gates.
Martin Halliday, Development Officer at Community Rail Norfolk, parent organisation of the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership said, “Both the Wherry Lines and Lowestoft Central Project are hugely grateful to Bell for allowing Marc & Gary to bring their skills to the station, they have done an absolutely fantastic job on the gates enabling a great step forward for the heritage quarter scheme.”
Darren Stannard From Bell said, “Working on the Lowestoft Station project has been an incredibly rewarding experience – not just for me , but for the entire team at Bell. From day one, Gary and Marc embraced the challenge with energy and dedication, and the results speak volumes. “As someone who lives locally, seeing the transformation of the station on a daily basis brings a real sense of pride. This project isn’t just about restoring station gates – it’s about enhancing a space that’s central to our community. It means a great deal to be part of something that will have a lasting, positive impact on the town. “A sincere thank you to Martin and Phil for trusting us to be part of this Journey. It’s been a privilege to contribute to a project that blends heritage, pride and progress.
Since the start the project has transformed an area that was previously unwelcoming and unsightly, helping to dramatically reduce anti-social behaviour and trespass and complimenting the rejuvenation of the wider station site. Other aspects of the scheme are expected to progress over coming months with the installation of a heritage semaphore signal and interpretation panels re-telling the importance of the former rail link to the harbour which for over 100 years saw millions of tonnes of both fish and aggregates transported from the town by the railway.