IT could be the railroad eatery which will bring new life to a Winchester beauty spot – and it has all been designed by teenagers.

A team of budding architects took over a city office last week to design a cyclists’ cafe from an old train carriage on the historic Hockley Viaduct.

It is hoped the Handle Bar Cafe will open next year for food, drink, bike repairs and views of the Itchen Valley.

Youngsters gave up four days of their Easter break to build a viable plan, covering the offices of local firm ArchitecturePLB in sketches, models and creative prompts.

They, along with a group of Portsmouth University students, are marketing, designing, planning, modelling and funding the project from scratch with professional help.

Hampshire Chronicle:

The design is the brainchild of teenager Alex Grice (pictured above), who first worked on it at sessions with workshop charity SPUD Youth.

“I’d say it was a good idea before, and now it’s a great idea,” said Alex, with thanks to the Portsmouth students.

“This whole process has confirmed that this is what I really want to do,” the Peter Symonds student added.

With the backing of business and Winchester City Council, it is hoped the cafe can be a social enterprise, offering apprenticeships and work for the disabled, unemployed and students.

The team were helped with technical details by local engineers, architects and planners, who gave thousands of pounds’ worth of free advice. Retirement home and project sponsor PegasusLife helped the students to craft a viable business plan.

“It’s great that we’ve got a group of people around here that want to come together and make this happen,” said SPUD Youth director Mark Drury. “We want to create something that’s vintage, rough and ready, a bit eclectic, with great food. We want people going away from there saying ‘you’ve just got to go there’.”

SPUD, which is seeking further commercial sponsors, will hold a public exhibition of its plans on Monday, June 8. Mr Drury said work could start on site next summer.