The culmination of 17 years of effort has been celebrated by a group in West Yorkshire who have secured almost £300,000 of funding to transform an old station building into a community centre with studio space for local artists.

An old station building at Mytholmroyd is set to be transformed by plans developed by Mytholmroyd Station Partnership, run by Geoff and Sue Mitchell.

For the last 17 years, they have been working to redevelop and reopen the building, but have suffered several setbacks along the way, including severe flooding and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last month, the group was awarded a grant of £293,193 from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in the third round of the Community Ownership Fund.

With that funding secured, the group is confident they can complete the project and welcome the first tenants within the next 12 months.

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway opened Mytholmroyd Station in 1874, with the station building next to Platform 2 originally housing a booking hall, waiting rooms, a station master’s office and a ticket collector’s office.

However, it was closed and boarded up in 1984, falling into disrepair and frequently targeted by vandals.

In 2007, Mytholmroyd Station Partnership revealed its plans to redevelop and reopen the building. In 2018, after receiving contributions from Historic England and the Railway Heritage Trust, Network Rail started renovating the building and making it structurally sound.

After Network Rail offered Mytholmroyd Station Partnership a 25-year lease on the building, the group set up a charitable incorporated organisation, called The Station Building, Mytholmroyd.

Northern, which operates the station that serves over 200,000 passengers a year, helped volunteers to complete the funding application and submit it to DLUHC.

With the funding now in place, the group is working to complete the renovations and installing electricity, heating and running water.

Mytholmroyd is just one of the stations on Northern’s which it aims to develop as community hubs through its long-running programme called ‘Stations as a Place’. Once they are redeveloped, Northern rents out spaces within them to local businesses. Details of spaces currently for hire at Northern stations can be found by clicking here.

Volunteers are also active at other Northern stations, including Todmorden, where they have re-created a Royal Horticultural Society garden, and the Leeds-Morcambe Community Rail Partnership, which was shortlisted for five awards in the recent Community Rail Awards.

The Grade II listed building has stood empty for 40 years but it will soon become a creative centre for Mytholmroyd and space on all three floors will be rented out to locals.
He added: “We are delighted to have secured this funding from the government after years of hard work.

The building has become a sad sight since it was closed and boarded up, so we can’t wait to complete the renovation and reopen it for the people of Mytholmroyd.

geoff Mitchell, chairman of Mytholmroyd Station Partnership

We’re proud to have helped these dedicated volunteers secure the funding they need to bring their dream to life, after 17 years of hard work and perseverance.

“It will be fantastic to see them transform this old station building into a community centre that can be enjoyed by local people.

Kerry Peters, regional director for Northern