An innovative project has started which is hoped will bring some colour and ownership to one of the areas more neglected stations. Mill Hill station on the outskirts of Blackburn has long been a magnet for antisocial behaviour, graffiti and vandalism. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has worked with Northern Rail and the East Lancashire Line Community Rail Partnership to fund CCTV cameras at the station to make the station a safer environment for passengers. A project has been put together to try and bring the station back into the community through engagement with local schools, youth clubs and community groups. A local senior citizen group will also be engaged which gives the project a rounded balanced community involvement

To this end the Community Rail Development Officer will work with local artist Alastair Nicholson to develop local links to the station from schools and local youth groups through art work. Two local primary schools will work on a safety theme to produce a piece of art work which will emphasise the dangers of trespass on the railway. Alastair will work in both schools for eight half day sessions to facilitate the art work. The CRDO will also work with the artist in school to emphasise health and safety issues prevalent at the station such as vandalism and trespass. The finished art work will be in the shape of a large banner which will be fixed onto the station fence in full view of the waiting shelter.

Promat UK Ltd., a local company based close to the station, has offered to provide a certificate for each child involved in creating the art work as a way of the company supporting the project. 

It is also planned that the artist will work with older children from the local youth groups who are the age group which frequently carry out graffiti attacks.

Named ‘Operation Erase’ the idea is to steer the youngsters into creating artwork for display in public areas, with the backing of the local community. It involves the artist working with the children to produce artwork then engaging with the local community for feedback and approval which is then fed back to the young people prior to agreed artwork being displayed within the community. Both the local graffiti officer and local community police officers will be involved.

Adjacent to the rather anonymous station entrance stand two very drab bus shelters and it is hoped to develop and highlight bus/rail interchange  through children’s art work displayed between the glass panels in the bus shelters and linking the bus stops with the railway station through additional artwork on the walls at either side of the station entrance.

Another aspect of this project will see the artist and CRDO work with ‘Nightsafe’ a charity which provides emergency accommodation for young people in Blackburn. ‘Nightsafe’ recently relocated to a redeveloped building next to Blackburn station and has been named Platform 5 by the youngsters.

It is envisaged that art work produced by the young people will highlight the link between their building and the station and the finished artwork will be displayed on Blackburn station.

It is hoped that the above projects will bring Mill Hill station back to life within the community and drastically reduce antisocial behaviour.

GALLERIES

St. Luke & St. Phillips