A new café is due to open up at Huntingdon Railway Station around seven years after the previous business closed.

Express Coffee Company put forward plans to revamp the café area within the ground floor of the station master’s house.

The company said minimal changes will be made to the outside of the Grade II listed building, but said internal changes will make the new café “welcoming and vibrant”.

In planning documents submitted to Huntingdonshire District Council, it said: “The client intends to preserve and enhance the existing internal and building features, to create a pleasant environment in keeping with the significance of the Grade II listed setting, while also having a modern feel.

“A muted colour scheme is typical of the mid 20th century to sit well with the building’s architecture and the café operators’ economic/semi-industrial aesthetic with a limited functional material palette.

“New wood plank format LVT flooring provides a practical surface for the envisaged footfall.

“A more rustic recycled wood panel finish to the servery front features in the applicant’s other outlets and lends a welcoming value for money appearance.

“Tiled cladding back panels provide clean and hygienic finishes around the food prep areas matched well with stainless steel and chromed catering fixtures and fittings.”

The old station café and newsagents closed back in 2017. The project to reopen the café has been supported by the Railway Heritage Trust, which said it was “about time we saw the lovely building open again”.

The district council has granted permission for the work to take place, subject to a number of conditions to ensure the listed building is preserved.