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.
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.
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.
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”.
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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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