A heritage café will open by autumn 2027 in the Victorian building on Bedlington Station's southbound platform, shut since 1964. Work starts in spring.
The old railway building on the southbound platform at Bedlington Station is to become a heritage café. It has been closed since 1964.
The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal has approved £582,000 for the project, Northumberland County Council said on Thursday 12 November. East Bedlington Parish Council will lead it (council news, 12 November 2026).
Work is due to start in early spring 2027, and the café is due to open by the autumn.
Who is paying
The council says the building is the last Victorian railway building left on the southbound platform. The money comes from three places:
- £582,000 from the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, through its Borderlands Place Programme
- £175,000 from the Railway Heritage Trust
- £40,000 from East Bedlington Parish Council
That makes £797,000 in all.
What the café will be
The plan is a café and community venue themed on the town’s industrial and railway past. The council says it should pay its own way. Any surplus goes back into the community.
Jenny Tindale, the parish clerk, said the café would bring “much needed employment, training and volunteering opportunities”. She added: “It will also provide a welcome opportunity for rail passengers to buy food and drink ahead of their journey.”
Tim Hedley-Jones, executive director of the Railway Heritage Trust, said the trust welcomed the parish council’s “commitment to preserve the railway heritage of Bedlington and the former Blyth and Tyne Railway”.
Council leader Glen Sanderson, who sits on the Borderlands Partnership Board, called it “fantastic news that this beautiful historic building on the Northumberland Line can once again become a focal point for the local community”.
Part of a bigger programme
Bedlington is one of seven Northumberland towns in the Borderlands Place Programme. The others are Alnwick, Prudhoe, Newbiggin, Bellingham, Haltwhistle and Rothbury.
The programme runs for ten years and is worth £21m: £12m of Borderlands money and £9m from the county council. Each town can get up to £3m. The council says the café is the first of several possible Bedlington projects, with more news to come.
Bedlington’s station reopened to passengers on Sunday 29 March 2026, the last on the Northumberland Line to open.
What it means for you
- If you catch the train at Bedlington: nothing changes yet. Building work starts in early spring 2027, and the council has not said whether any of the platform will be fenced off.
- From autumn 2027: you should be able to buy food and drink at the station before your train.
- If you want to volunteer or work there: the parish council says the café will offer jobs, training and volunteering. East Bedlington Parish Council is the body to contact.
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