After almost five years of fundraising, construction, blood, sweat and tears, an old railway station house in Levenshulme is about to become a vital part of the community once again. Station South is a cycle cafe, bar, urban garden, restaurant and bike workshop, and is due to throw open its doors tomorrow (March 30).
The project has been a labour of love for its co-directors and local residents Pauline Johnston, Abigail Pound and Mark Jermyn, who formed a collective to save the dilapidated building and restore it to its former glory. Straddling the Fallowfield Loop cycleway, it will provide a great natural break spot for cyclists and families walking the near eight mile route, and also hopes to become a community hub too.
“We had the seed of the idea in 2017,” Johnston told the Manchester Evening News. “We knew the building was here and was empty, and were told that it was just a few years away from falling down. There were no toilets, we had to put the mains electricity in, waste pipes, everything! It was just a shell.”
