Romsey Railway station master’s house: £1m raised towards scheme

Hampshire Community Rail Partnership (HCRP) has announced that it has raised £1m towards its target of £1.5m to renovate the Romsey Railway Station Master’s house.

Nick Farthing, chair of HCRP, said: “HCRP and ep architects are delighted to announce that preparation work and fundraising is continuing to regenerate Romsey Station Master's House. The team are delighted to confirm we have just over £1m of the target £1.5m pledged by supportive groups and contributors”.

“Temporary Signage is being carefully installed on the building elevation to raise awareness of the fundraising for this community-led project. Proposals have been prepared by ep architects on behalf of HCRP and will be exhibited at the station and at the upcoming Romsey Show. The signage has been kindly funded by Avon Construction, with whom we together transformed the redundant Shawford ticket office into the award-winning “platform number 1” community space and café.”

Gary Wilburn, managing director of ep architects, said: “Following public and local authority consultation, we are submitting a Full Planning Application to TVBC (having undertaken a detailed Pre-App process) for the proposed regeneration of the Masters House. Funds have been raised to cover professional fees and application costs, and we will be tendering the detailed design to local contractors over the coming months”.

Andy Pratten of Avon Construction (left) and Nick Farthing of HCRP outside the station masters' house (Image: HCRP)

“Our project engineers, AWA and ourselves are Romsey-based; it is great to have local people on the team who understand and appreciate the importance of the Station building to the people of Romsey. In consulting with local groups, we are delighted at the support we have received and the positive messages and letters of support that HCRP have received”.

HCRP has said that, following 45 years of disuse, there is a substantial amount of work that needs to be done to the station master's house.

The partnership's plans call for the split-level layout to accommodate a café and art gallery space at lower levels with multi-use community and meeting spaces on upper floors. All of the renovation work will be undertaken with a close eye to historic detailing and traditional methods of construction.

Subject to the approvals process and fundraising being concluded the partnership plans to start work on site in late 2025 or early 2026 with approximately 12 months to complete the project.

More information about the project can be found on the Hampshire Community Rail Partnership website.