Haverfordwest Railway Station Refurbishment Project
Project Led By: South West Wales Connected (SWWCo) Community Rail Partnership
Project Manager: Philip Merchant
Timeframe: June 2025 – May 2026 (11 Months)
Challenge
Additionally, the station frequently experienced issues related to anti-social behaviour, which negatively impacted the safety and experience of the thousands of passengers who pass through every year.
Haverfordwest Railway Station BEFORE
Images Credit: Philip Merchant
Vision
Guided by SWWCo’s four value pillars, Project Manager Philip Merchant initiated a vision to give the Platform 2 building a much-needed facelift. The unique solution was to involve local artists and young people to create artwork that reflects Haverfordwest and the wider Pembrokeshire area.
SWWCo played a pivotal role in networking and brokering between various agencies to make this a reality. Working in close collaboration with Peter Jenkins from Haverhub and Nathaniel Owen at Transport for Wales (TfW), plans were drawn up and permissions secured. Scoping visits led by Eve Sherratt (Community Rail Officer) and Philip Merchant brought all agencies and stakeholders to the station to explore what was possible.
The project gathered further momentum when Kier Construction, introduced by Juliet Raymond from Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC), offered their support as part of their social responsibility initiatives.
Action
Through a co-production effort, the vision was turned into an actionable plan. The physical upgrades to the station included:
- Upgrading the Gents’ toilets and deep cleaning the Ladies’ toilets.
- Upgrading the Waiting Room with fresh, local artwork.
- Installing and printing bespoke artwork for Platform 2.
A ‘call out to artists’ by SWWCo resulted in a selection of artwork displaying local concepts of what Pembrokeshire means to them. SWWCo closely curated the overall design and placement through visits and workshops. The physical installation was expertly led by Amanda Swoboda and Dean Williams at Kier, alongside Wayne Garnon at PCC, with the Welsh Government funding the printing.
Haverfordwest Railway Station After
Images Credit: Philip Merchant
Social Impact
A cornerstone of this project was its social youth crime prevention approach. Rather than just treating the symptoms of anti-social behaviour, the project aimed to link up causes and solutions.
Drawing on his background as a qualified social worker, Philip Merchant partnered with Steve Lewis and Stephen Johnston from the PCC Youth Service and Youth Justice Team. Through in-person outreach at youth clubs and meetings with the British Transport Police (BTP) and Dyfed-Powys Police, the project team successfully engaged local youth.
Notably, some of the station’s new artwork was created by a young person as part of a Reparation Programme. This provided a valuable, motivational experience and a significant achievement for the young person involved. The initiative was so successful that the Youth Justice Team is putting it forward to a national newsletter as an example of good practice.
Financials
Kier Social Responsibility Program – £8,000
Welsh Government Shared Prosperity Fund via Pembrokeshire County Council – £1,600
Future
The refurbishment is a positive step toward reducing anti-social behaviour by transforming the station into a multi-use location for community groups. The station is considered an important asset, and progress will continue over the next few months, funded via Haverhub. Looking ahead, art workshops with local schools are planned, where the featured artists will help teach the next generation.
Voices from the Project
I jumped at the chance of being involved in the Haverfordwest Railway Station Art project, taking on the brief of capturing Pembrokeshire with the classic vintage poster style in mind. Haverfordwest is my home and I wanted to capture features that I found interesting or relevant to me as well as many other locals, presenting an original view of the town. I enjoyed assembling my observed elements of the town into a single composition that bridges both sides of the river, asking quiet questions of the potential of the riverside, past, present and future.
TfW are delighted to have worked closely with Pembrokeshire County Council, Kier, Southwest Wales Connected and local artists and stakeholders to deliver some small but important improvements to the station environment at Haverfordwest. We hope customers will enjoy looking at the artwork done by local people for local people, when they travel with us.
We need exactly this type of collaboration, with the Council, local groups and proactive citizens working together in our communities. It’s great to see the progress that has been made at Haverfordwest Station and we hope to support more groups with their ideas for local stations over the coming year.
As SWWCo we took on this project as a response to community feedback that the station was not a welcoming place, in its environment and for passenger wellbeing.
It was a challenge and an opportunity to take this on as a blank canvas and it was so enjoyable to work with the many partners who all had the same vision and reasons to upgrade this important railway station.
Projects such as these are important to our aspirations in terms of children repairing harm to their local communities for their behaviour. Super project and I would very much welcome working with you again in the future.
I’m proud of my involvement with the HVF Railway Station artwork project and am looking forward to seeing it in situ.
It’s been a real pleasure to contribute to the station art project. Lower Town Fishguard has always inspired me with its atmosphere, history and beauty, and I hope that my artwork helps showcase what makes Pembrokeshire so special.
Acknowledgements & Stakeholders
This transformation was made possible through extensive behind-the-scenes work and the dedication of numerous partners:
- SWWCo Team: Philip Merchant (Project Manager), Eve Sherratt (Community Rail Officer), Dawn Lyle (Chair).
- Transport & Infrastructure: Nathaniel Owen (Transport For Wales), Robyn Jones (Network Rail).
- Construction & Installation: Amanda Swoboda, Dean Williams, Neil Mogford (Kier Construction).
- Local Authority & Services: Juliet Raymond, Wayne Garnon, Wayfinding (Pembrokeshire County Council).
- Community & Safety: Gitti Coates (Haverfordwest Forum), Pete Jenkins (Architect), Dyfed-Powys Police, Barry John MBE (VC Gallery), Simon Hancock (Haverfordwest Town Museum).
- Youth Services: Stephen Johnston (Pembrokeshire Youth Justice Team), Steve Lewis (Pembrokeshire Youth Service), and the young person who produced artwork.
- Featured Artists: Jane Blyth-Mason (VC Gallery), Tristan Stockdale (The Edge Youth Centre), Kathryn Kerr, Ieuan Thomas (Photographer), Owen Hart, Liz Tobin, Richard Blacklaw-Jones.