£2.3m regeneration scheme for station given backing by town businessman

FOR five years it has remained derelict, a shadow of its former glories from when it opened 160 years ago.

But ambitious plans to convert the historic Richmond Station into an entertainment and community centre have now been given a boost by businessman Jonathan Fry.

Mr Fry, who runs the financial advice company Jonathan Fry and Co at Fairfield Way, Richmond, has become the latest benefactor of the station project after he handed over an undisclosed sum to the scheme.

The listed station, which opened in 1846, will be converted to a cinema, café bar and bistro, exhibition area and venue for community and business meetings in a £2.3m overhaul due to begin later this year. It will take one year to complete once building starts, and contracts are expected to awarded in early summer.

Mr Fry, a keen supporter of heritage and community initiatives in the Dales, said: "There is great affection for Richmond Station, which closed to passenger services in 1968."

"It is a magnificent, important building and I am tremendously excited by the vision of the regeneration project, which will provide 21st century facilities while preserving the integrity and splendour of the original architecture."

"The station will be accessible to people of all ages from all sectors of the local community and beyond and I am delighted to be able to offer my support as a corporate sponsor."

In addition to a two-screen cinema and public entertainment and meeting areas, the station will feature a microbrewery, the Swaledale Cheese Company production and visitor centre, a heritage gallery, skills training area and craft workshops.

The building, designed by York architect George Townsend Andrews and built in 1846 by the Great North of England Railway, closed as a station after passenger services between Darlington and Richmond were withdrawn.

It has been out of use since 2001, after 21 years as a garden centre. The Heritage Lottery Fund and the regional development agency, Yorkshire Forward, are among organisations providing funds for the revamp.

© Yorkshire Post 2006