New look for Railway Station?

Recently we included an item about the former Station Chef buffet at Skegness which is now one of a number of defunct buildings on the station, which include an old gents toilet, parcel office, booking office (closed 20 years ago) and a Station Master's residence. All have been derelict for some years now, and despite attempts to find new uses, it's apparent that most (if not all) are now beyond repair, and any renovation work would almost certainly not justify the major expense.

There have been plans afoot to demolish these to possibly make way for retail units/new car park and taxi rank etc, and demolition was initially planned earlier this year. The Skegness Standard has now picked up on the story and their article can be read by clicking here.

The Stationmaster's residence as it was in 1975 when occupied by the widow of the late Mr Howden, the last Stationmaster in Skegness.

By comparison a photo taken today, the site now is very overgrown and the building has suffered at the hands of vandals.

The plans would see the demolition of all the buildings on the right of the photo. The nearest is not derelict and currently used as a staff mess room

Whilst Network Rail's plans for a new entrance can only be an improvement on what is currently an eyesore, it's a pity that the investment didn't take place much earlier, a good example of what could have been done retaining the character of a historic station whilst modernising it can be found at Eastbourne, as illustrated in the photo below.