The railway minister has given his support to a vision to regenerate Lowestoft railway station.

A working group set up last year to improve the town's station and the surrounding area met minister Paul Maynard to talk him through their vision which includes plans to turn the old sorting office into a tourist information centre, holding a market on the concourse as well as bringing the areas surrounding the station back into use.

There are also potential plans to bring the sidings of the old platform four into use for railway nostalgia.

MP for Waveney Peter Aldous said: 'I'm grateful to the minister for giving up his valuable time to meet the Lowestoft Station partners to discuss the great work that is going on to improve the use of the station and to make Lowestoft a more welcoming place to visit.

'We envisage an upgraded railway service to Lowestoft playing an important role in bringing business back to the town. Alongside that we believe that if the building and the surroundings are brought into full use it can play a role in helping attract business and shoppers back into the town centre.'

A spokesman for the working group said: 'A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to bring together organisations linked with the station and its surroundings.

'Now that our plans are at an advanced stage, the opportunity to share these in detail with the minister was extremely helpful, his encouragement and support at this crucial stage is invaluable.'