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Old railway shed in Banchory could be turned into new Deeside Way play centre with cafe

There are plans to breathe new life into the former Roy Cowie base on Station Road, a year after the landscape gardening business left the premises.

Image shows the old railway shed which could soon be turned into a new Deeside way cafe.
The building on the old Deeside railway line was once used as a repair facility for steam trains. Image: Denny Andonova/DC Thomson.

An old railway shed that was once used as a repair facility for trains stopping at the historic Banchory station could soon be revived as playbarn with a cafe.

The building was erected on the Deeside Way, just a stone’s throw from the station, in the late 19th century.

For decades, it served as a maintenance and repair shed for the steam locomotives passing through the north-east countryside.

However, it was shut when the station closed to passengers in 1966.

Once an important stop on the old Deeside line, by September 1973 Banchory station had become a boarded-up eyesore. Image: DC Thomson archive.

It was later used as a storage unit for Aberdeenshire Council bin trucks, and most recently was the headquarters of Banchory-based landscape gardening firm Roy Cowie.

The business moved out about the year ago, and the shed has been empty since.

Banchory Playbarn now wants to sublet it from the local authority and convert the building into a new Deeside Way destination for families.

Image shows the old railway shed which could soon be turned into a new Deeside way cafe.
Image: Denny Andonova/DC Thomson.

What are the Deeside Way cafe plans?

The company has lodged proposals to create a cafe with designated play areas for children of all ages – from toddlers to young teenagers.

Meanwhile, the cafe will give parents a place to sit down and enjoy a cuppa while their kids are having fun.

Part of the building will be segregated into smaller rooms which could be used for birthday parties and the like.

This is the proposed layout of the shed. Image: Denny Andonova/DC Thomson.

And there would be some outdoor seating available during the warmer months, which could make it an ideal respite spot for anyone taking a walk down the Deeside Way.

Documents say the coffee shop will offer hot drinks, snacks and cakes, but there will be no cooking on site.

And they add that the old railway shed was the most “suitable location for the facilities they envisaged”.

Image shows the old railway shed which could soon be turned into a new Deeside way cafe.
The shed is aptly located just off the scenic Deeside way walk. Image: Denny Andonova/DC Thomson.

Do you think this plan will be good for Banchory? Let us know in our comments section below


However, some internal works will still need to be carried out to convert the unit, which was previously filled with all sort of landscape machinery and hand tools.

There will be spaces for about 20 cars and 20 bikes outside the playbarn.

You can see the plans for yourself here.


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