Back On Track

About Back On Track

Back on Track is the name of our National Lottery Heritage Fund project application.

In September 2024, we secured £4,478,310 from the Fund to deliver our ambitious plans to fully refurbish Tilbury’s Grade II* listed historic Riverside Railway Station and bring this historic landmark back to life as a vibrant community hub.  We are delivering the project in partnership with the Port of Tilbury.

This funding marks a milestone in the Trust’s efforts over almost a decade to secure major funding to transform the railway station into an exciting space for community events, studios for local artists, and a place to enjoy a cup of coffee in a new riverside café while watching the ships go by along the Thames.  The transformation will celebrate the building’s rich heritage, from the arrival of the Empire Windrush to its legacy as a key stop for cruise liners today and from a bygone era.

During delivery, we will be working with a range of partners, specialists and community to develop the proposals.  You may wish to have a look at the opportunities on offer here.

Project Summary

This project summary was provided to the Heritage Fund within our first stage application:

Back on Track will culminate a joint community and commercial effort to restore and celebrate the Grade II* Tilbury Cruise Terminal as ‘the Nation’s Landing Stage’, cementing Tilbury on the Thames Trust as its financially secure and representative custodian.

Housed in the reinvigorated Riverside Station with new café, artist studios and event spaces enabling year-round public access and engagement, our project will draw on Tilbury’s illustrious past to engender pride and inspire transformative action.

As Queen Elizabeth I once galvanised support in Tilbury through her ‘heart and stomach of a king’ speech, we will activate the next generation through learning, skill, and training opportunities.  We will transform how we feel about our town and ourselves, engaging more people in reinterpreting our shared national and personal histories through community research, exhibitions, events and a community grant scheme to bring Tilbury’s rich and multi-faceted maritime history to life, concluding with the 80th anniversary of Windrush in 2028.