A COFFEE firm has won a break from York’s planners after being given the go-ahead to transform the waiting room at the city’s railway station.

Commuters will find it easier to grab a quick beverage while waiting for their train following the decision to allow an upgrade of facilities for the public at York’s travel hub.

The refurbishment will also include new floors and furniture, as well as a fresh look for the walls, which will be adorned with framed pictures of the city.

AMT Coffee, whose proposals have been approved by City of York Council, hopes the facelift for the waiting room – standing next to the Burger King restaurant near the station’s main entrance – will improve services on offer for hundreds of travellers who use it every day. It will also boost for the historic station’s facilities after a proposed multi-million pound revamp of the building – including a first-floor development and new retail units on its main concourse – was withdrawn last November.

In a design and access statement, AMT Coffee said: “A new mobile coffee kiosk will be relocated into the waiting room next to the serving hatch.

“By doing this, it will mean we are able to serve commuters inside the waiting room and also from the concourse.

“Therefore, commuters need not come into the waiting room to get their cup of coffee before boarding their train.”

The company said the revamp would not mean any structural changes having to be made to the station building, adding: “Our landlords, National Express, have informed us they are happy to support the change and feel the uplift to the station waiting room will make a pleasant change.”

When the proposed refurbishment for the entire concourse was unveiled in 2007 by the station’s former owners GNER, the possibility of a Marks & Spencer Simply Food outlet arriving and the current WH Smith branch moving to larger premises was raised, with the plan also including relocating the Travel Centre and passenger lounge.

National Express East Coast, which now runs the station, said with the East Coast Main Line franchise due to revert to public ownership, further discussions on such major projects would be necessary before any decision on their potential revival could be made.