Video footage shows off the incredible transformation at Henley-in-Arden Railway Station which last week reopened with a new brewery and community bar.

Having been empty since the 1990's, Friends of Henley Railway Station (FHRS) has spent the past few years working to take over the building and bring it back into use.

The group, which started life tending to the flowers and planting on the platform, first started negotiating for the lease from Network Rail in 2020, before being granted planning permission for the project last year.

Funding was secured for a variety of sources, including £250,000 from the Department for Transport and £150,000 from the Railway Heritage Trust.

Work on site then began in April 2023, before the new bar opened for the first time over the weekend.

And while the bar was hoped to open last year, Angela Okey, chair of Friends of Henley Railway Station explained the complexities of the project.

"Our main challenge has been working next to a live railway track, and getting all the permissions," she told Nub News.

"We thought it was going to be more of a renovation until we started and it turned into a full restoration with structural repairs. 

"You don't find out these things until you start ripping things out!"

With the support of Network Rail, West Midlands Railway, Henley-in-Arden Parish Council and the Railway Heritage Trust, FHRS carried out structural repairs to the building before reworking and renovating the space which now houses a fantastic community bar and lounge.

The building has space for the The Henley Mile brewery which is being run by local brewers, with their products being served in the bar alongside other local beers, local wines, soft drinks and snacks.

The lounge will provide a multi-functional community space, equipped with IT facilities, which can be hired for small functions.

Angela said she also does not "want to dictate" what it is used for, and says she hopes the community will make the most of the new space.

"Some people thought it would be a community hall or a cafe," she added. 

"We have kept it all quite secret, but I don't think anybody expected it to be the quality it is. 

"The biggest thing for me is people saying 'wow' when they see it - and that keeps happening."

On Thursday (22 February), representatives from the Railway Heritage Trust, Henley-in-Arden Parish Council, West Midlands Railway, Friends of the Shakespeare Line and FHRS joined Network Rail's Lord Peter Hendy to open the newly refurbished station building.

Network Rail colleagues with the Friends of Henley in Arden Station (image via Network Rail)

This was followed by a private event for all the contractors who have worked on site, and then another get together for the "small army" of volunteers who gave up "thousands of hours" to the project.

The bar then opened to the public for the first time on Saturday (February 25), and will now open its doors every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

All income and profits from the bar and community space will be invested back into the building, facilities and station area.

And after years of work and tireless support of volunteers, Angela said she is incredibly proud of what has been achieved.

"We were never going to fail - put it that way!" she said.

"When I first started three years ago, I was told by somebody 'it will never happen, you will never get it off the ground'. 

"That was all the drive and determination I needed to make sure we absolutely did."

The Henley Mile Brewery has opened at the railway station (image via Network Rail)