CIC starts station conversion in Levenshulme

Overseen by heritage specialist JBH Property Consulting, work has started on the redevelopment of the former Levenshulme South railway station building into a cycle café.

The Victorian building sits by the A6 above what is now the Fallowfield Loop line, a key part of south Manchester’s cycling infrastructure, and is being brought back to use by community interest company Station South CIC, formed by locals Abigail Pound, Mark Jermyn and Pauline Johnston.

The CIC has been working with building owner Railway Paths, along with the Railway Heritage Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund, to bring the project through planning over 15 months.

Johnston said the CIC hopes to have the building open in 2019: “After a period of development work, significant investment into the building has been made by Railway Paths, kindly supported by a grant from the Railway Heritage Trist to bolster critical repair.

“Once open, Station South cycle café and bar has the potential to enrich Manchester cycling culture, create a new kind of transport hub and connect a well-loved wildlife corridor to the Levenshulme high street and wider A6.”

Andy Savage, executive director of the Railway Heritage Trust, added: “The restoration of the building will reveal many fine features. We are delighted that this plan includes a long-tern sustainable use for the building, avoiding it falling back into dereliction once more.”

Built in 1892 in red brick with mock-Tudor styling, the building housed the original Levenshulme station, on the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway, and has been closed since 1958. The Fallowfield Loop is managed by Sustrans, a sister organisation to Railway Paths.

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Walked the Fallowfield Loop today. My main interest is the railway history as I’ve a vague recollection of travelling over the line in the 1960s, probably on the Harwich – Liverpool boat train from Guide Bridge to Manchester Central. Interesting to see the surviving station buildings at Levenshulme and Fallowfield. Hope your conversion to a cafe is a success.

By Geoff Kerr

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