Wednesday 26th July saw the Bentham Line (Leeds to Morecambe) CRP hold its Annual General Meeting. The meeting was held as a hybrid with some joining live at Bentham station and some joining online.
Gerald Townson, Chairman, presented a very positive annual report to its members.
He reflected on the partnership’s engagements with new stakeholders, which included the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co., and the ongoing work with schools along the route to promote rail safety and share the history of the Bentham Line.
The ‘Rail and Sail’ project at Heysham Port was a highlight of the year, as it brought together a large number of organisations, alongside local children from St. Peter’s Church of England Primary School. The artworks produced as part of the project were fantastic.
Northern’s Year-in-Industry students again this year and developed the thoughtful ‘Destination Wellbeing’ community project, based on their experiences during the pandemic, to encourage use of the railway to raise personal wellbeing.
Gerald was re-elected a Chairman, Rod Tickner as Vice Chair, Secretary and Press Officer and Hugh Turner as Treasurer. These three together with David Bousfield, Richard Rollins, Pete Myers, Graham North, Richard Watts, Mike Cliffe and Simon Clarke will make up the Board of Directors for 2023/24.
Click HERE to read the Annual Report and on the image below to see a slide show of the events of the last year.