The disused railway station building at Henley-in-Arden Station looks set to get a new lease of life after plans to turn it into a microbrewery and community hall were signed off by district planners.

Community group, Friends of Henley Station, has been given permission to repurpose the building, having recently signed a 25-year lease from Network Rail.

Plans, which were submitted in January, show the brewery will occupy a space of just 22.67 square metres, with the community hall twice that size.

The application said: "The building appears to be of early 20th century origin and originally built to accommodate the station master, ticket office, waiting areas, toilets and storage. 

"However, in more recent years the building has been boarded up and left vacant and is in a state of disrepair."

It added: "This will bring much needed activity back into the site throughout the week and allow for natural surveillance of the platform and car parking areas."

The station has been boarded up and left unused (image by Flamenc)

Planning permission had previously been granted in 2009 and 2021 to turn the station into offices, but the projects never got off the ground.

However the group has already begun renovation work on site and says it is "steaming ahead" with the plans.

A recent post on the Facebook page said: "We want to take this opportunity to thank Beaudesert & Henley in Arden Joint Parish Council, Friends of the Shakespeare Line and Railway Heritage Trust for the support they have expressed for the application.

"We are incredibly grateful to E H Smith Building Supplies, who have agreed to support the project, and we are working with them to source all the materials used in the renovation works.

"We have secured great support from all three utilities, Severn Trent, National Grid and BT Openreach, who have established and confirmed their services for usage at the station building when the renovation is completed."

Six letters of support were submitted for the application, with district planners saying the scheme had a clear community benefit.

Approving the application a council report said: "The refurbishment and new use proposed within it would, in my view, help to improve the appearance of the station and create a more active use in this area."

Plans show there will be little work on the outside of the building. Some scrubland at the station will also be cleared to create an outside seating area.

(Insert image by Flamenc via geograph.org.uk)