PLANS have emerged to open a micropub at Durham railway station.

Middlesbrough-based James Nicoll has applied for planning permission to open The Dunelm Tap in a storage area on the northbound platform.

Drinks would be served from noon to 10pm, seven days a week; and the existing waiting room would be rearranged to provide access to the new bar.

Although micropubs, small pubs free from loud music, betting and games machines and televisions where the emphasis is on high-quality drinks and conversation, have sprung up across the country, Durham was without one until The Station House opened nearby on North Road late last year.

Now a second could following within a few months.

Susannah Mansfield, director of The Station House, wished Mr Nicoll well with his venture.

However, one resident, John Hitchman, of Beech Crest, has already objected, saying passengers waiting for trains should not have to wait in a “pub access”.

Mr Hitchman also says the access for dropping off and collecting passengers from the northbound platform is “woefully inadequate”, although John McGargill, of the highways authority, is not objecting to the proposal.

Consultation on the proposal runs until Wednesday, January 27. A decision is expected from Durham County Council officers acting under delegated powers by mid-February.

Further details can be found online at durham.gov.uk/planning, using the reference DM/15/03752/FPA.

Work is due to begin on an £800,000 project to improve pedestrian and bicycle access to the station in February.