£100,000 Railway Heritage Trust Grant, Phase 2 Completion, Covid – 19 and Our Community Collage

We think it’s about time we shared some Station South project news with you, it’s been too long. We’ve had our head buried so firmly in business plans and funding applications that we forgot to come up for air and say hello to the people who matter the most, our supporters and future customers. Hi!

We want to let you know what the dealio is behind the scenes and what we’re doing to get this over the (railway) line. Sorry, cheesy train puns are hard to not include.We want to make sure you know we are doing everything we can to get us open as soon as possible. We promise, we have not forgotten about you wonderful people.

P.S: If you have purchased merchandise and have not collected or received it, let us know and we can arrange delivery wit you. Email hello@stationsouth.co.uk

For those people who have events based rewards to cash in, stick with us, we will see your lovely faces in the near future and we promise to make sure the events we put on are top notch.

Railway Heritage Funding – We’ve Secured An Additional £100,000 Towards The Final Phase.

Your mammoth fundraising effort at the start to give this project legs is still being recognised by us of course and by suitable funders that we’re seeking out to help us complete the project.

You’ll be pleased to know your contribution to Station South at the start of this labour of love has allowed the team to access additional funding to continue with the restoration of the building. We’re working through the final bits of the financial jigsaw puzzle to ensure we can deliver a restored building, fit for its modern purpose as a cycle cafe and hub for the Levenshulme.

Good news to report that Railway Heritage Trust has committed to match fund to the tune of £100,000 in the next phase of building works to bring the railway building and structure back to everyday use, one of their key aims. We’re going to get one of those cool railway heritage plaques as well when it’s all done.

So to all 1162 of you who have committed to this project through the crowdfunder and to those who are patiently waiting for us to swing open the doors, we want to say thanks for holding tight whilst we hustle for the building and the Station South dream.

Now that we’ve been able to secure more funding, expect to receive a bit more news as we get moving again.

We hope you’ll agree that the plans we have for the building and land are extensive, groundbreaking and will inspire others.  We hope to share these with you soon!

Take a look at the lovely facade, rebuilt and repointed this Spring.

Phase 2 Works Near Completion

You’ll  be pleased to know some of the biggest restoration jobs have been done with thanks to the support from you and our funding partners so far!

The past few months has been a lot about the structure. The floor on top of the bridge required some engineering considerations and this was one of the biggest project hurdles to ensure we could all benefit from the space we call ‘ The Viewing Platform’

We wanted to ensure we could still retain level access for our users, including those with wheelchairs so we wanted to find a solution to make sure it could withstand the flurry of cafe goers wanting to sit near the viewing platform windows and enjoy their coffee with a view of the Fallowfield Loop. Job done.

It’s now structurally sound for the next 100 years and beyond and still all one level. Next we’ll be ready to lay down the heating and flooring.

Here’s some of the recent works, doors, windows and skylight.

Covid 19 Impact

The impact of Covid 19 has been tough on so many of our local business neighbours and people in general. For everyone who has been badly affected personally and professionally we want to send our thoughts to you. It’s still an uncertain time for all and it has slowed down the  Station South project timeline somewhat.

For us, the glamorous job of connecting to the main sewers has been delayed but as soon as they are done, we will be able to move on with the next phase of the building works and eventually, the fit out. We would love to call upon our volunteers for support on some support when the time is right…so we’ll put a call out in the future.

We have had to do a little bit of juggling of the space to take into account the impact of Covid 19 on our business model from the get go, things are a moving feast but in order to minimise impact and ensure the core business can work under restrictions, we’re planning for all eventualities so we can make sure we’re Covid proof and here for the long haul.

One Day We’re Gonna Hug Again – Community Collage

It’s been a pretty long 112 days since lock down began we’re sure you’d agree.

We’re glad that we’re seeing Levenshulme and beyond coming out of it now and our fellow businesses across the way starting to open again. Shout out to our neighbours Nordie, Tallyrand, Trove, Crimson Rose, the new Barber & Co, Moss n Maple and The Antiques Village and others as they keep going strong and adapting to the new normal.

We were feeling the need to do something creative in the midst of all of the Covid-19 unknowns. We decided to ask that the talents of the neighbourhood help us out and create a little visual booster for passers by on our Advertising Board. We swiftly put the call out for creatives to contribute.

Over seven days we asked for people to send in their photos of daily life around Levenshulme. Creative snapshots and artwork. We prompted creativity with the hashtags #simplepleasures #foodforthought, #naturelovers’ and #workingfromhome’. We included as many as possible on our advertising board facing Stockport Road.

The results are colourful and heartwarming.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Bentley Photography

A special thanks to Siobhan Daniel for the creative strapline that has resonated with many people who have seen it on Stockport Road.

Thank you to all the excellent #communitycollage contributors below.

Ali Hanbury, Amy Walker, Cardy Camara, Carole Moodey, Eleanor Tierney, Emily Johnson, Emily Scarlett, Helen Beesley, Jonny Bentley, Karen McCarthy, Leesa Effberg, Liv Walker, Liz Edwards, Louise Spence, Madeline McCloughlin, Michael Hopper, Steve Marsden, Valerie Page, Vicky Boylan, Siobhan Daniel, Tamzin Forster