One the day that some of the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in Scotland – Tuesday 25 January 2022 – the plaque that had been awarded to the Kilmarnock Station Railway Heritage Trust at the 2021 National Railway Heritage Awards held at Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London on Wednesday 1 December 2021 was formally unveiled.
The project, which was funded by a number of agencies including the Railway Heritage Trust, was completed in December 2020 and was awarded the BAM Nuttall Partnership Award by Andrew Haines, CEO of Network Rail, at the ceremony.
After short speeches and the unveiling of the plaque by Andy Savage, chairman of the NRHA, Huw Jones, from the sponsors BAM Nuttall, Allan Brown, from the Kilmarnock Station Railway Heritage Trust, and James Ledgerwood, representing ScotRail, a short tour of the station was made, including the lower ground floor therapy areas which include some occupational therapy spaces and a small bakery. At platform level the party saw the KSRHT archive space, café and exhibition spaces as well as a small model shop. The party were particularly impressed by the standard of workmanship and quality of detail in the work which had been undertaken. The benefits of regeneration of redundant spaces into effective community spaces was clearly shown.
The unveiled plaque at Kilmarnock with, left to right, How Jones of BAM Nuttall (the award sponsors), Andy Savage, chairman of the NRHA, Allan Brown, from the Kilmarnock Station Railway Heritage Trust, and James Ledgerwood, from ScotRail.
The Grade B listed station building at Kilmarnock; although much of the work concentrated on the interior, all of the existing windows and doors were repaired with work also being done on the roof and station canopy.
One of the rooms created in a building that was effectively little more than a shell when the trust commenced its work. Wherever possible original features have been retained and the trust has been very successful in finding a range of community, charity and commercial uses for the offices and rooms created, thus ensuring their future.