HISTORIC listed buildings at Gobowen Railway Station are set to be repaired after a £246,146 grant was awarded through the Government’s Community Ownership Fund.

The station is among the groups across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales that are set to gain from over £150 million to support community ownership of local assets.

The station has just marked its 175th anniversary, with local volunteers and staff from the station’s Severn Dee Travel ticket office, performances from Derwen College students, who run the café at the station, and Helen Morgan MP at a special event.

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Additional funding will come from the Railway Heritage Trust and Three Parishes Big Local.

Trustee Henry Thomas, said “We are delighted to be able to embark on repairs after years of trying to do something about the poor appearance of these important buildings.”

The funding, announced on Monday, will be spent on external repairs and improvements to the buildings that flank both platforms at Gobowen.

The main building was designed by local architect Thomas Penson in a “Florentine villa” style for the opening of the railway 175 years ago, and the centre of the village developed around it.

It will be clad in scaffolding so that the cement rendering can be removed and replaced with lime render.

Roofs and gutters will be repaired, and doors and windows repainted.

The single-storey building on the opposite platform was added later in a similar style but in yellow brick.

It too will have its roof and gutters repaired, and doors, windows, and signage repainted.

Sheila Dee, one of the volunteer Directors of Severn Dee Travel which runs the ticket office and waiting room added: “Many congratulations to Oswestry Station Building Trust for all their hard work in securing the funding for this work.

"We’ve been concerned for some time about the deteriorating condition of the outside of the buildings and are very pleased that it is being tackled at last – this will help to secure the future of our not-for-profit business, and the cafe run by Derwen College.

"We’ll remain open while the work is carried out, and will continue to offer our expert and friendly advice on rail tickets even for the most complicated journeys”.

When building work is finished, landscaped areas and planting beds will be formed to improve the surroundings of the buildings, and the local community will be able to take pride in it again.

Also swift nest boxes will be fitted in the tower to encourage these birds which spend almost all of their time on the wing, and are in decline.

Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire,said: “This grant is great news for Gobowen and is a welcome boost for the staff and volunteer who do such a fantastic job at the station ticket office and cafe.

“Oswestry Station Building Trust deserves a big round of applause for this success.

“The next stop is reopening the rail link from Gobowen to Oswestry.

“The outline business case is excellent and it’s now down to the Government to end the delays and get the wheels turning on improving Shropshire’s transport links.”

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Meanwhile Mrs Morgan says she has been pressing the Government to give the green light to the next stage of the project to reopen the Oswestry to Gobowen line.