|
Work is
expected to start soon on converting a rundown railway station into
an Indian restaurant. Morpeth's historic station building is the
latest planned project to expand Northumberland's successful Curry
Train dining experience.
It is to be
given a new lease of life as a flagship, 100-seat trackside
restaurant - with customers being able to travel direct to its front
doors by train.
Businessman
Daraz Aziz - owner of The Valley Indian restaurant in Corbridge which
is served by the famous Curry Train - wants to create a carbon copy
at the East Coast main line station in Morpeth.
His expansion
plans were revealed by local newspaper, The Journal, a year ago - and
now he has been given the green light by Castle Morpeth Council to
redevelop the station building, which is mostly empty and gradually deteriorating.
At Corbridge,
thousands of diners a year arrive at the restaurant on the nightly
Curry Trains, which have been running from Newcastle and Carlisle for
more than a decade. Mr Aziz, who also runs restaurants in Hexham and
Jesmond, hopes for a similar success story at Morpeth, with customers
travelling to the new restaurant by Northern Rail trains from
Newcastle and Alnmouth.
Yesterday he
said he plans to start work on converting the station building by the
end of this year and hopes to have the new restaurant up and running
by late spring or early summer.
He said: "We
have had to get over a lot of hurdles to get planning permission,
because Morpeth station is a listed building and there are various
ownership interests. Everything is moving ahead, although it has been
quite slow.
"Now
that we have planning permission, things are in the hands of the
architects. I am very enthusiastic about the project and hope the
Morpeth restaurant will be as successful as The Valley has been."
In 2006 the
Corbridge restaurant was named as one of the most innovative in the
UK in the annual British Curry Awards, and last year was voted the
best in the North-East.
Mr Aziz's
Morpeth plans will not affect the use of the station by passengers,
with the platforms, taxi office and ticket office staying as they are
at present.
A Castle
Morpeth Council spokeswoman confirmed planning permission and listed
building consent had been granted for the station building conversion.
top |
