Hull City Council is to award two city centre grants as part of wider regeneration works at Hull Paragon Interchange.
Hull Tap Ltd is to be awarded £315,000 for works to the former ticket office and hall in the station to be converted it into a high-quality bar.
The ticket hall is currently vacant and planned features include leather and hardwood fixed seating for around 150 customers, whilst a new bar counter will be built in the former ticket office.
Refurbishment works will be carried out in keeping with the former ticket hall’s heritage, as well as taking into consideration to ticket office’s listed status.
Funding would come from the government-backed city centre grants scheme which would see Hull Tap bring back into use 600sqm of unused floor space and create 15 full-time equivalent jobs.
The former ticket office is currently occupied by WHSmith, which will vacate the premises.
Further government funding will be allocated to help to maintain the company’s presence within Hull city centre, with £146,250 granted to WHSmith Travel Holdings Limited to enable it to relocate to the vacant unit on the opposite side of the station’s concourse, next to Costa Coffee.
This will bring back into use further unused floor space, whilst also safeguarding current jobs in the station store.
Both projects are estimated to see nearly £1m of private capital invested into the station.
Additional inward investment is being made into Hull Paragon Interchange, with national supermarket chain Morrisons recently submitting plans for one of its Morrisons Daily stores in the currently vacant unit next to Starbucks.
Cllr Paul Drake-Davis, portfolio holder for regeneration and housing at the council, said: “These awards are another great example of the potential that the city centre grant scheme can unlock.
“The former ticket office has stood vacant for many years, almost a decade, so it is pleasing that a large unit will be occupied thanks to grant funding.
“These awards are also helping to maintain city centre presence for a national brand in WHSmith, whilst safeguarding jobs at the same time.
“Morrisons’ application for the station confirms that Hull is a place that high street brands want to be and will only add to the offering for commuters and passengers alike.”
Hull City Council allocated a portion of government funding received in 2021 to create a new grant scheme which aims to bring back into use empty floorspace and create city centre jobs.
So far, more than £9m has been awarded in grants to businesses, creating almost 900 full-time equivalent jobs, repurposed more than 18,000sqm of vacant floorspace, improved or restored 14 heritage buildings and brought back into use 19 dilapidated buildings.
