Rail company has given high hopes for Batley Station

Campaigners looking for improvements to Batley Rail Station said they had a very promising meeting with Northern Rail.
Batley councillors met Peter Myers from Northern Rail at Batley Station to discuss the cleanup campaign. (D522A444)Batley councillors met Peter Myers from Northern Rail at Batley Station to discuss the cleanup campaign. (D522A444)
Batley councillors met Peter Myers from Northern Rail at Batley Station to discuss the cleanup campaign. (D522A444)

Coun Gwen Lowe (Lab, Batley West) said a meeting with Peter Myers from Northern Rail, which manages the station, gave the group a lot of hope that it would get what it had been fighting for.

She said: “We still have a long way to go, the improvements won’t happen overnight but we are on track.

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“The next step is to get interested parties around the table. It was an absolutely positive meeting.”

Mr Myers said: “We work with a great number of Friends of groups and they can be transformational. I really think that the same can be true for Batley.”

Labour’s general election candidate for Batley and Spen. Jo Cox, said: “We had a very positive, successful meeting with Northern Rail’s Pete Myers. He listened carefully to our concerns and we agreed a series of steps to help improve the station.

“Mr Myers also took lots of photos of the misspelt information sign and the broken glass in the roof and promised to address these issues.”

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She said Northern Rail had agreed to paint the station, provide flower boxes for campaigners to paint, repair to the overgrown guttering and roof, and allow local schools to display artwork.

Councillors and residents have led the charge on the cleanup campaign, which was backed by the Batley and Birstall News.

Members hoped the next meeting would begin to set a timetable for the work.