A remote former "engine shed" next to a heritage railway is set to be converted to a restaurant. The railway goods shed on Rowlands Road, Summerseat, next to the Bury to Rawtenstall railway, run by the East Lancashire Railway, was built in 1847, shortly after the line opened. It was designed to serve the local cotton mills with the transport of raw materials inward, and the finished products outward.
It has been designated a Grade II-listed building, mainly because it contains a rare and working, hand-cranked crane. Inside the site Now, Holcombe based Mala Cuisine Ltd, who operate several eateries locally, wish to convert the engine shed to a restaurant. A statement in support of the plans said: “It will be themed with railway paraphernalia and links with the railway would be forged, encouraging train passengers to break their journey at Summerseat railway station to enjoy a meal in the engine shed.
” The plans aim to "utilise the building without forming any new openings, maintaining all original features". The railway sidings and yard were still in use up to the early 1960s, but the tracks were removed around the time the railway became single track in 1967. The building has most recently used as a ‘one man’ engineering business, dealing in the repair of motors and generators.
Permissions have been previously granted for restaurant use of the building, the most recent being in August 2013, but no such development has yet taken place. The railway line A heritage state.