Pollokshaws West Station refurbished with help from the ScottishPower Green Energy Trust
On Wednesday, 7 August one of Glasgow’s oldest railway stations will begin a new journey as a cycle repair station and resource centre, after undergoing a massive refurbishment made possible by a wide range of generous funding contributions, including a sustainable heating system provided by the Scottish Power Green Energy Trust.
First opened in 1848, Pollokshaws West Railway Station is the oldest surviving railway station operating in Glasgow. In 1998 the station’s old waiting rooms and ticket office were replaced with newer facilities leaving parts of the old building derelict, with unsightly boarded up windows and its attractive Victorian interior stripped back to an empty shell.
Over the past four years, The Glasgow Building Preservation Trust has worked tirelessly to raise the much-needed funds to save this Category B-listed building and transform it into a cycle repair and resource centre to be operated by South West Community Cycles.
Today, local cycling professional superstar, Rab Wardell, met with volunteers at the station who gave him a sneak peek of the centre and allowed him to try out the new facilities. Rab, who lives nearby, recently competed for Scotland in the British National Mountain Bike Championships at Cathkin Braes and has his sights firmly set on competing in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The station is set to become a centrepiece of the local community and will provide free bike repairs to children, low-cost bike hire and sales, training and events. It will also offer secure bike lock-up facilities, a bike repair workshop, lockers, showers and changing room, bike hire facility and a café serving hot food and drink.
As well as supporting green travel, the eco-friendly building itself is completely sustainable, thanks to an impressive wood pellet stove boiler, funded by the Green Energy Trust’s donation. The boiler blends seamlessly with the traditional architecture of the Victorian building and now provides heating and hot water for its visitors.
Gill Stewart from the Glasgow Building and Preservation Trust, said: “We are committed to saving and restoring historic buildings so that they can take on a new life and once again play an important role within local communities. We are delighted to finally re-open the doors of the station and bring local people together with this much needed community cycling hub. By installing the biomass boiler we will keep the station’s running costs low and promote the environmental ethos at the heart of the project.”
Alison McKean, Senior Environmental and Social Policy Manager at ScottishPower, said: "The ScottishPower Green Energy Trust is always interested in helping fund renewable energy projects and it’s fantastic to be supporting such an exciting development. The funding will help provide a modern sustainable energy source for the station and ensure that this very special building is preserved and continues to be an asset to the local community in Pollokshaws.”