We all love The Station in Richmond, the community venue by the River Swale which has become a magnet for local people and visitors since it opened in 2007.
My family regularly head over from our home near Northallerton to enjoy a movie, see the latest exhibition, grab some lunch after a walk to Easby Abbey or visit the small shops there.
What makes it special, of course, is the amazing building it is housed in – the town’s Victorian former railway station.
Few people will be aware that The Station is run by a charity, the Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust. It was responsible for the extensive restoration of the building 17 years ago and its continuing success today.
The charity is also now grappling with a similar challenge – finding a new use for the town’s former grammar school just a few hundred yards away.
Like The Station, the grammar school was designed in the Gothic Revival style by the same architect G T Andrews and occupies a prominent spot overlooking the Swale.
Sadly, it has been disused since Richmond School and Sixth Form College centralised its teaching up on the Darlington Road site more than 12 years ago and found it had no use for the “lower school” as it used to be known.
I’ve been involved in initiatives to give the building a new role since 2016, supporting a successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to draw up a plan for the future.
Unfortunately, that plan came to naught when a much bigger grant application to the HLF failed.
The decision, back in 2019, was disappointing but the project was up against strong competition for funds from other heritage schemes in the North of England.
Now the Trust is in the middle of a fresh attempt – Operation Regeneration – to bring the Old Grammar School back to life.
Trust chair Bryan Johnston and CEO Chris Brown briefed me on their progress during my recent visit. I was pleased to hear that this new project to explore options for the building is being funded by a £40,000 grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – a programme I helped to establish in my time as Chancellor.
An extensive consultation is underway to get the ideas of the local community of how the old school could be restored and have a sustainable future. That is vital if the building is not to be a drain on the Trust.
It is my view that some kind of hybrid, multi-use development with a commercial element to help fund its upkeep is the way forward.
While the formal consultation came to close on Sunday, two meetings for local businesses and community organisations take place later this month. The Trust is keen to hear what people think and I urge those of you who value this iconic building to do via the Trust’s website – www.rbptrust.co.uk
Good luck to the 14 Friarage Hospital midwives doing the 84 miles of the Hadrian’s Wall Walk next weekend.
Doing the walk over four days and camping overnight, the “midwives on a mission” aim to raise £5,000 towards extra facilities to further enhance the outstanding care offered at the hospital’s midwife-led unit.
The team have set up a Just Giving page for supporters. Search “Clare McMann South Tees Hospitals Charity” to find the page.
