THREE years of hard work will pay off next week when the renovation of a station begins.

Richmondshire District Council has handed the guardianship of Richmond Station to the community charity, Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust.

Jim Jack, charity chairman, said: "It demonstrates just how many people care about preserving and developing heritage in our district and how willing they are to play an active role in maintaining local control of priceless buildings like the old station."

Funding has been provided by Yorkshire Forward, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the European Union, as well as hundreds of private donors, charitable organisations and fundraising events - but charity bosses say ten per cent of the £2.5m total is still needed.

The final push for funding was kick-started this week with a £7,500 grant from the Gannett Foundation.

The foundation was set-up by Gannett, the US parent company of The Northern Echo and Darlington and Stockton Times, to support community projects.

It will pay for a hearing enhancement system to aid hearing-impaired station users.

The station will be redeveloped into a community and business centre and will include two 100-seat auditoriums, used as conference facilities during the day.

In the evenings and at weekends, the rooms will be host a cinema and other leisure activities. A restaurant will be located just off the old platform.

The renovated station will include two meeting rooms, exhibition space and a heritage centre. Office accommodation and workshops will also be created. The work is estimated to take a year to complete.

Donations can be sent to the Richmondshire Building Preservation Trust, PO Box 500, Richmond, DL10 7WU.

To donate by credit card, call (01748) 850123 or visit www.richmondstation.com