AN historic railway building in Darlington is being converted into new homes as part of an £8m housing development.

The Railway Housing Association (RHA) is building 73 dwellings to let on a site just off Haughton Road, opposite Darlington College.

The homes are being built close to the 1825 Darlington to Stockton Railway Line and the RHA will be incorporating an engine shed built sometime between 1841 and 1844 into the development.

The Grade II-listed shed will be converted into mews-type houses and it’s hoped that giving the building a purpose will ensure it is preserved for the future.

The Friends of the 1825 Darlington & Stockton Railway association had objected to the original plan to build on the route of the railway, and the housing scheme was subsequently revised. The Friends want the line to be granted World Heritage Status in time for its bicentenary in 2025.

It’s thought the shed was actually used for the railway between Darlington and York and was built by the Great North of England Railway Company, who borrowed or purchased trains from the Darlington to Stockton Railway. It is also believed the architect was George Townsend Andrews of York who built the first York Station, which predates the current main station in York.

The shed was listed in 2008 because it is a rare early example of a railway engine shed and is “highly significant” for the evolution of railway building design.

A spokesman for RHA said the whole housing development, including the engine shed, will have an industrial feel in keeping with the site’s historic past but at the same time providing modern, energy efficient homes. It will be completed in May, 2018.

Anne Rowlands, RHA’s chief executive, said: “Working with Gentoo Construction, we are excited about the prospect of providing much-needed new homes for local people in Darlington, and at a site which reflects both the town’s and our own historical connections to the railway industry.”

The site is now being cleared to pave the way for the construction of the two and three-bedroom houses, two-bedroom bungalows and one-bedroom apartments.

The new homes will be let to applicants nominated by Darlington Borough Council and from the association’s waiting list.