Norden station wins excellence award

News release dated September 4th, 1999 - all photographs are copyright Andrew P.M. Wright or Keith Morgan.

An innovative park and ride project by Purbeck District Council centred around the Swanage Railway's acclaimed Norden station has been given a prestigious green award for tourism and transport excellence by the Southern Tourist Board.

Here are two shots of Southern Tourist Board chairman Michael Green (right in both pics) giving Purbeck District Council chairman Roy Anderson (left in both pics) the STB's green award for tourism excellence for Norden Park and Ride.

For further information and photographs of Norden this summer visit the dedicated news page

With the encouragement of the Swanage Railway, the £510,000 250 parking space scheme on redundant agricultural and industrial land just north of Corfe Castle was the brainchild of Purbeck District Council's community planning and design department.

The aim of the park and ride scheme off the main A351 Wareham to Corfe Castle road is to reduce the impact of tourist traffic coming into Purbeck which is visited by five million visitors a year - contributing £95 million a year into the local economy and supporting a quarter of Purbeck's jobs.

The project was tested as a temporary 120-space pilot from 1995 when the Swanage Railway's passenger services were extended from Harman's Cross to Corfe Castle and Norden.

Then in May, 1997, the park and ride car park at Norden was made permanent and landscaped - extended to 250 spaces and given facilities for coaches, the local bus service and an environment-friendly loo block.

The Norden park and ride project has been achieved through the success of a partnership instigated by Purbeck District Council and including the volunteer-run Swanage Railway, Dorset County Council, landowners ECC International, oil giant BP Exploration which owns the access road, as well as the Government's Countryside Agency and English Partnerships grant-making bodies.

The Southern Excellence Green Award for Transport from the Southern Tourist Board to the Norden park and ride project means that Norden now goes forward to a national competition - the result of which will be announced at a starlit awards night at London's glamorous Savoy Hotel.

Last year, the park and ride car park at Norden was used by more than 50,000 visitors and 27,000 cars - vehicles that would otherwise choke the narrow and winding A351 road to Corfe Castle and Swanage.

Presenting the award to Purbeck District Council chairman, councillor Roy Anderson, was Southern Tourist Board chairman Michael Green who praised the project: "All the people involved in the partnership have one their bit towards the winning of this award and I congratulate them."

Councillor Anderson said: "The Norden park and ride project is a key part of the heritage strategy which seeks to enable both visitors and residents to enjoy Purbeck while leaving their cars behind."

"The success of the park and ride project has been directly due to the efforts of the partners and to all of them I would like to say a very special thank you.

"I would also like to thank the staff of the district and county councils. The imagination and hard work has produced this high quality scheme at Norden which blends in so well with the local landscape.

"This scheme demonstrates the councils' commitment to supporting the local economy and improving the environment for present and future generations.

"We hope that many people will continue to use this facility and take the train to Corfe Castle and Swanage, so helping reduce pollution and congestion in our very special area," he added.

Last August, Norden was visited by the Government's then tourism minister, MP Janet Anderson, who said: "I think park and ride, where it works, is an extremely good idea and certainly they seem to be developing it very well here in Purbeck."

With a railway-themed play area for children, the offices and public lavatories at Norden were built by reviving the Medieval technique of cob for the walls - using mud, gravel and straw to make the walls. Environment and conservation friendly, the building as won national interest and is a showcase for using cob in a new building.