A once-damaged waiting room at Saxmundham station has been reborn as a colourful community hub after receiving £6,500 from Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund. The makeover has replaced vandalised walls with vibrant artwork and created a welcoming space shaped by local talent and imagination.

The project united schoolchildren, poets, and artists from Saxmundham and nearby areas. Young pupils from Saxmundham Primary School contributed bright illustrations of flowers and swallows, while local creatives redesigned the interior, painting the room in bold blue tones and embellishing it with swallows, Greater Anglia’s signature hare, and a poem inspired by the town.

Residents, families and supporters gathered to celebrate the transformation at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, with music, cupcakes, goody bags and plenty of pride from those who helped bring the space back to life. Organisers said the event reflected not just a station improvement, but a renewed sense of community ownership and creativity.

Greater Anglia’s Partnerships Manager, Scott Dolling, said:

“We are pleased to support this initiative to help enhance our station. We are always looking to strengthen the role of the railway in supporting the communities we serve, and our Customer and Community Improvement Fund allows us to back locally led projects that meet community needs. Refurbishing the waiting room at Saxmundham station in this way has given local artists and schoolchildren a creative role, and our experience shows that community artwork like this can help prevent further vandalism.”

Thalia Woodgate, East Suffolk Lines Community Rail Partnership Officer, added:

“We are delighted to have been able to refurbish the station thanks to Greater Anglia and the efforts of the local community. Hopefully, this project will help restore a sense of pride and ownership in Saxmundham.”

The Saxmundham scheme is one of 28 projects supported this year through Greater Anglia’s community fund programme, which offers grants of up to £50,000 and totals £350,000 in funding across East Anglia. Initiatives range from art and heritage projects to environmental schemes, transport improvements and initiatives encouraging more people to explore rail travel. Eligible applicants include community rail partnerships, station volunteers, councils, charities and local groups committed to enhancing their neighbourhoods and the railway that serves them.

Image: Greater Anglia