Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, a lengthy project to complete renovations on a derelict railway station building is finally nearing the end of its journey.

Although lockdown has caused more delay to the restoration at Saltash station, the contractors are due off site in around five weeks, allowing final plans to take a step forward.

Councillor Richard Bickford, who has been leading the project with the Station Property Sub-committee, said: ‘This is obviously later than we wanted or were anticipating, but while the COVID-19 lockdown has cost us some time, it has also bought us some extra time to complete the work effectively and for the extra funding required.’

The shell of phase two of the project, which replaced the Victorian toilet block at the East end of the structure, has now been built, but he says that further funding will be needed to finish this area.

‘Internals are not fitted out here at all at the moment, and I don’t believe there is enough in the fund for painting it externally. We currently have a £30K bid in to furnish the extension and we still have to ascertain exactly what else is required,’ he continued.

The main section of the building is all but ready with a waiting area and toilet, as well as a kitchen, which is fitted out with the basic requirements needed to operate, but extra equipment such as a coffee machine and other food service materials will need to be provided by the franchisee.

While the intention is still to provide a refreshment facility, nothing has yet been agreed as to who will run the outlet, and it would not be in use immediately as this would cause extra issues during the current pandemic.

When, or if, the fence separating the building from the platform is to be taken down is still to be decided and is a complicated issue, with Saltash Town Council owning the building land and GWR owning the platforms.

However, discussions are underway with network rail and GWR, despite there being a finite budget to cover these costs.

Cllr Bickford explained: ‘It’s important to come up with the right solution.

‘The committee are hopeful that the existing fencing can be replaced with GWR black spearhead railing, but we aren’t able to get a price for this at the moment as this may need to be manufactured elsewhere specifically for the purpose, and while so many companies still remain closed, this could present some difficulty.’

The traditional red telephone box on the opposite side of the building is also in need of some TLC and it’s hoped that this will be refurbished at some point, with Saltash Town Council having agreed to adopt it, while the Station Property Sub-committee will be seeking a voluntary organisation to restore and maintain it, but this will be looked into at a later date due to current social distancing measures.

Landscape

As to the opening of the station building to passengers, Cllr Bickford said: ‘Once the contractors are off sight, we will be able to take a breath, look at the access onto the platforms, signage, cleaning and also any potential hazards.

‘We have learnt all the way through this project to be patient.

‘With less railway and public transport usage still during this pandemic, the question will be when are we realistically able to open the waiting area of the building?

‘It may potentially not now be open until the autumn, which gives us around eight to 10 weeks to complete the landscape of the building.

‘So, time is now on our side and we aren’t promising anything in a hurry. It needs to be when the time is right.

‘We need to see what everything looks like as we progress and potentially look at social distancing and what that will look like at the time, and this means we are obviously unable to promise an official opening for the time being.’