'There were no toilets, it was just a shell' - look at Levy's old station house now

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.”

They secured the use of the building from its owners, Railway Paths Ltd, which oversees the estate of former railway land from the days of British Rail. The station house, which dates back to 1892 and was called Fallowfield South, was previously above the Fallowfield Loop railway line, which was finally closed in 1988.

It was transformed into the urban cycleway, among the longest in the UK, in the late 90s, and stretches from Chorlton through Whalley Range, Fallowfield and Levenshulme to Gorton.

An initial crowdfunding campaign raised a massive £66,000 for the project, with the directors then unlocking further funding from a host of contributors, including Railway Heritage Trust, Manchester City