The 150-year-old Mermaid Café building on Cleethorpes is to be reborn in its original guise – as a waiting room for the recently opened Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway.
Now part of the listed buildings on Cleethorpes Railway Station, its restoration project will involve conserving the Victorian cast iron framework of the building, full restoration and conservation of the timber elements of the building, and a new roof.
The building will be repainted in the original livery colours of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway company.
Leaseholders Charles Crawford and Craig Brown said: “This is something that we’ve been wanting to do for a long time, having gained planning and Listed Building consent back in 2021. Due to the complexities of the restoration, we knew that financial support would be required, and we’re really pleased to get the backing of The National Lottery Heritage Fund for some of the work. We can’t wait to see what the building will look like when it’s restored.”
The Railway Trust will provide match funding for this project. The Trust’s Tim Hedley–Jones aid: “We’re really happy to be working collaboratively with both the leaseholders and the council, and provide this additional funding to help restore this former railway building.”
Cllr Philip Jackson, Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “I’m really pleased to see this particular building come forward as part of the Townscape Heritage Project. It’s one of the key buildings that people see as they arrive in Cleethorpes on the train, and to have it restored to its former glory will be wonderful!”
The work will be carried out by CAG, who have completed heritage works in other areas of the resort as part of the National Lottery funded Townscape Heritage grant programme.
Planning permission is already in place for the work to the building, and initial internal work has begun, with hoardings already up around the building and the iron work set to be removed before Christmas. The main work will start in the new year, with a view to being completed before the main summer season.
