£2.7m Station project is major success (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

£2.7m Station project is major success

1:50pm Sunday 26th October 2008

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IT was a hugely ambitious gamble - but it was one that paid off handsomely.

The £2.7m redevelopment of Richmond’s old railway terminus was organised by a locally-based charity and took a small army of volunteers, five years to complete.

But since the Station opened a year ago the building has quickly become the area’s most popular visitor attraction.

The restoration was the largest project of its kind ever undertaken in the district. Public funding bodies, inclduing the Heritage Lottery Fund and Yorkshire Forward formed a partnership with the Station charity to realise the community’s vision for the Grade II*-listed property.

And more than £500,000 of the total funding was raised from private donations and gifts from other charities.

"Many purely commercial projects would be rightfully envious of what our little charity has achieved - and with good reason," said the trustee responsible for the Station’s finances, Ian Hepworth.

"At the end of our first year, Station businesses have served over 95,892 cups of tea, coffee and hot chocolate, 55,708 meals and 31,977 scones.

"The Station’s food producers have made thousands of litres of ice-cream, 28,352 bottles of beer, 5,112 kilos of cheese, 20,236 loaves of bread, plus a great deal more."

The businesses based within the station have also created more than 30 full-time jobs.

The Station also houses a two-screen cinema operated by Rob Younger - who has been overwhelmed by the public response.

"When I last checked our attendance figures toward the end of October, I discovered that 71,916 people had already come along to see the various films we’ve shown - 10,356 for Mamma Mia alone," he said.

The project has also won a series of awards for its success as an example of social enterprise and historic restoration in the region - and is tipped to win several national accolades this autumn.

To celebrate the first anniversary Seasons, the Station restaurant, is holding a free pancake breakfast on November 9.

The cinema also has 800 free tickets to give away, for a series of special screenings that are scheduled to be held from November 6 to 9.

To obtain tickets to the free breakfast or any of the free screenings, call into the Station from November 1.

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