Redcar Central to be "revived"

[ainsworth74]

This has been on the cards for a little while but details were scarce (to my knowledge), not that the latest news brings that much more clarity! From the Local Council however:

Redcar Central Station to be revived in near £6m regeneration project​

A MAJOR redevelopment of the Grade II listed Redcar Central Station will see this historic railway building at the heart of the town centre restored to its former glory.

Conservation works to transform it from an empty, dilapidated building into a vibrant, more welcoming gateway to the town are planned, enabling it to function as both a leisure and retail hub as well as a key transport link, providing rail facilities including ticket machines, travel information and covered waiting areas.

£5.950m from the TVCA Growth Zone and Investment Funds has been allocated to the project to deliver the refurbishment of the building, making it fully accessible to all and including improvements to the public areas outside.

Despite being a Victorian building, there will be a focus on sustainability, using electricity only and installing renewable energy systems; solar panels will be positioned out of sight, in line with aims to preserve the traditional style of the building.

The project will be welcomed by Redcar Central’s existing users and an increase in commuters and visitors is expected as post-Covid travel and train timetables continue to normalise, along with an aspiration to bring direct London services to Redcar in the future once established from Middlesbrough.

The hourly Transpennine service to and from Manchester Airport already serves Redcar Central, providing direct connections to towns and cities across the north of England.

Public consultation is expected to occur this summer with construction works beginning in April 2023 for an estimated opening in early 2025.

Councillor Chris Gallacher, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, said:

“There are ambitious plans in development for a whole range of improvements to the Redcar area as part of the Town Deal and Coatham Leisure schemes.

“The Redcar Central Station refurbishment will benefit the town and wider borough in a number of ways, not only providing a new leisure and retail facility to be proud of within the station itself, but also by means of creating jobs for local people throughout the construction phase, in the running of the station and as part of the businesses which will base themselves there.

“Existing local businesses will benefit from the increased visitor numbers using the revitalised station too. It is a further significant development for the town and will provide another fitting gateway to the wider borough.”

Redcar Central Station to be revived in near £6m regeneration project

A MAJOR redevelopment of the Grade II listed Redcar Central Station will see this historic railway building at the heart of the town centre restored to its former glory.

www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

I'm not quite clear on what this means for the existing railway facilities. For those that are unfamiliar the old station building that is being discussed here is on the Saltburn side of the station whilst the current ticket office building is on the Middlesbrough side. Does the current ticket office close outright (I took the reference to "travel information" however to mean the station will be staffed at least)? Is it relocated the revamped station building (seems sub-optimal as the majority of traffic is to Middlesbrough!)?

My assumption is that there going to be knocking a hole in the wall of the station building to allow access to the Saltburn platform (and station footbridge, I wonder if that is to be replaced to make it accessible?) as otherwise you'd enter the new station building and then exit the same way you came in and walk down the side of the building to access the station. Ironically this would be taking out a wall that was originally only put up when the building was originally abandoned in the (I think) early 80s. Prior to that sides of the station were open as that was the platform line ran through it!

I'm intrigued at the reference to extending the London service to Redcar Central. I was on the inaugural from Middlesbrough to London and the Redcar MP did collar David Horne to lobby directly for the service to be extended. Mr Horne, of course, was non-committal but positive to the idea as you might expect for someone dealing with a local MP proposing an idea like that! But this is the first time I've seen that aspiration stated anywhere in writing (even if it just a Local Council puff piece).

Hopefully the public consultation will reveal all. In any event doing something with the old station building (which is quite grand building) has to be a positive as it's been sat empty slowly rotting away and looking sorry for itself for many years now.

 

[railfan99]

From Australia on my way to Whitby (and the next day NYMR) a few years ago, I travelled on this interesting branch line, and remember Redcar Central because isn't the line famous for having one of thenleast used railway stations on the UK rail network?

Regrettably I only spent a few minutes at the terminus, which looked to have an interesting, historic town, as I then had to connect at Middlesbrough, which entailed a lengthy wait, but to catch the next train from Saltburn would have meant missing the railcar to Whitby.

This is an underappreciated part of the UK for railfans, and of course it was magical for a foreigner to change at historic Darlington. The BritRail pass received much use that weekend.

 

[Mordac]

From Australia on my way to Whitby (and the next day NYMR) a few years ago, I travelled on this interesting branch line, and remember Redcar Central because isn't the line famous for having one of thenleast used railway stations on the UK rail network?

Regrettably I only spent a few minutes at the terminus, which looked to have an interesting, historic town, as I then had to connect at Middlesbrough, which entailed a lengthy wait, but to catch the next train from Saltburn would have meant missing the railcar to Whitby.

This is an underappreciated part of the UK for railfans, and of course it was magical for a foreigner to change at historic Darlington. The BritRail pass received much use that weekend.

It's an underappreciated part of the UK in general. Whitby is my favourite British seaside town!

 

[railfan99]

It's an underappreciated part of the UK in general. Whitby is my favourite British seaside town!

My weekend almost a decade ago at Whitby was great: historic seaside buildings, a typical multi-storey B&B to stay in albeit with the usual tiny room, able to attend Mass at a fairly historic Catholic Church and of course travel the full length of the NYMR, plus the pleasant Whitby and Saltburn branch lines. NYMR volunteers/staff were friendly, and the booking office lady at Whitby efficient despite a queue of five or six in front of me.

Bonus for an Australian: the Captain Cook Museum was worth visiting. What an achiever.

 

[ainsworth74]

I travelled on this interesting branch line, and remember Redcar Central because isn't the line famous for having one of thenleast used railway stations on the UK rail network?

Two in fact! British Steel Redcar between South Bank and Redcar Central and Teesside Airport between Darlington and Eaglescliffe both now mothballed however.

 

[ecmlthrash15]

My weekend almost a decade ago at Whitby was great: historic seaside buildings, a typical multi-storey B&B to stay in albeit with the usual tiny room, able to attend Mass at a fairly historic Catholic Church and of course travel the full length of the NYMR, plus the pleasant Whitby and Saltburn branch lines. NYMR volunteers/staff were friendly, and the booking office lady at Whitby efficient despite a queue of five or six in front of me.

Bonus for an Australian: the Captain Cook Museum was worth visiting. What an achiever.

The stretch of coastline from Redcar to saltburn is wonderful. Whitby is pleasant, but a nightmare to reach by rail.

 

[AndyHudds]

Just needs Transpennine to do its bit now and actually run the timetabled services to the station as opposed to cancelling them constantly. The 6.46am hasn't run for about 3 weeks until this morning but guess what, its cancelled in the morning.

 

[Neptune]

Just needs Transpennine to do its bit now and actually run the timetabled services to the station as opposed to cancelling them constantly. The 6.46am hasn't run for about 3 weeks until this morning but guess what, its cancelled in the morning.

Is that the 0646 off Huddersfield? It generally starts from York whenever it’s cancelled from Hudds so annoying as it is it does at least run to Redcar.

Yesterday when it ran from Manchester it only went to Middlesbrough due to problems on the line east of there.

 

[AndyHudds]

Is that the 0646 off Huddersfield? It generally starts from York whenever it’s cancelled from Hudds so annoying as it is it does at least run to Redcar.

Yesterday when it ran from Manchester it only went to Middlesbrough due to problems on the line east of there.

Sorry, yes from Huddersfield. I catch it to work in Leeds in a morning or did. Yesterday was the first time it ran from Manchester for about 3 weeks.

 

[ainsworth74]

This has now received planning permission from the local council:

Planning permission granted for redevelopment of Redcar Central Station​

PLANNING permission for the major redevelopment of the Grade II listed Redcar Central Station has been granted.

Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council’s regulatory committee approved the project today (Thursday 8 December) meaning the historic railway building at the heart of the town centre will be restored to its former glory.

Conservation works to transform it from an empty, dilapidated building into a vibrant, welcoming gateway to the town will commence in spring 2023.

The building will function both as a leisure and retail hub as well as a key transport link, providing rail facilities including ticket machines, travel information and covered waiting areas.

A total of £5.950m from the Redcar Growth Zone and Investment Fund administered by the Tees Valley Combined Authority has been allocated to the project to deliver the refurbishment of the building, making it fully accessible to all and including improvements to the public areas outside.

Despite it being a Victorian building, there will be a focus on sustainability, using electricity only and installing renewable energy systems; solar panels will be positioned out of sight, in line with aims to preserve the traditional style of the building.

The project will be welcomed by Redcar Central’s existing users and there’s an aspiration to bring direct London services to Redcar in the future once established from Middlesbrough. The hourly Transpennine service to and from Manchester Airport already serves Redcar Central, providing direct connections to towns and cities across the north of England.

It is estimated that the station will open in early 2025.

Councillor Chris Gallacher, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth at Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, said: “We are thrilled that our plans for Redcar Central Station have received planning permission. The refurbishment of this historic building will benefit the town and wider borough by creating jobs for local people as well as creating a vibrant gateway to the town for visitors.

“New leisure and retail facilities will be provided, but existing local businesses will benefit from the increased visitor numbers using the revitalised station as well.

“This work complements the projects already underway to revitalise the Redcar area as part of the Town Deal and the Coatham Leisure schemes, as well as the recently-opened cinema.”

Ben Houchen, Tees Valley Mayor, said: “This is yet another example of how our funding is helping to overhaul stations the length and breadth of the region to deliver better, more frequent, more reliable transport links.

“This transformation will play a huge part in boosting visitor numbers, getting people spending in our brilliant local businesses and, ultimately, putting more money into Redcar Town Centre.”

Planning permission granted for redevelopment of Redcar Central Station

Planning permission for the major redevelopment of the Grade II listed Redcar Central Station has been granted.

www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk

 

[IanXC]

Looking at the planning application theres no suggestion of moving the ticket office. In fact much as the building is to say "REDCAR CENTRAL STATION" on the front the only immediately relevant facilities for an intending passenger are toilets and a covered walking route to the platform.

 

[ainsworth74]

This project doesn't appear to be dead despite the last update being over a year ago! Via the local paper (so ad-blocker strongly advised before visiting):

The Government has confirmed £20m worth of further ‘levelling up’ funding for Redcar and Cleveland.


The council learned at the end of last year it had been successful with a levelling up partnerships bid, which target areas most in need of interventions based on indicators such as educational attainment, gross pay and life expectancy.

[...]

Schemes which the new money will be spent on and how much they will get include:

• Plans to redevelop the grade II listed Redcar Central station turning it into a vibrant gateway for the town with the addition of new facilities for travellers and retail/leisure offerings - £7m

[...]

Now this may take long time readers by surprise as the scheme had previously been announced as getting £6m funding from the Tees Valley Combined Authority's "Growth Zone and Investment Fund" back in mid-2022 (with planning permission in December 2022, the last update on this thread). It's not clear to me where this money went as it seems that the scheme is now being funded by a completely different pot of funding from Central Government rather than the local TVCA funding pot. Very odd. But then what isn't about TVCA...

On the plus side at least the project still appears to be alive and kicking though I presume the original idea of it being open in 2025 is well and truly dead and it'll be more like 2026/27 before it's ready.

 

[DarloRich]

On the plus side at least the project still appears to be alive and kicking though I presume the original idea of it being open in 2025 is well and truly dead and it'll be more like 2026/27 before it's ready.

Does High Viz Houchen not have "boots on the ground" and "steel going up" on this project?

 

[ainsworth74]

Does High Viz Houchen not have "boots on the ground" and "steel going up" on this project?

Nope! It's still in the same state it was a couple of years ago. Well, slightly more degraded of course. But I can't spot that there's been any work done at all. At least not from the outside.

 

[TBY-Paul]

Unfortunately we are in the murky area of politics where a Conservative Mayor is attempting to do things in a predominantly Labour controlled area. The same thing happened in the TDC’s time, I saw first hand some of the things that happened during the TDC’s time, some of it suspect, but more importantly why. But as they say “history is written by the victors”.