The Wrekin's Halfway House could be open again this summer after £320,000 cash boost
A historic cafe at a Shropshire landmark could be re-opened in the early summer after the charity that bought it won a chunk of government cash to buy it.
The Yellow Ribbon Community Chaplaincy has received news that it had been allocated £320,000 under the Community Ownership Fund to buy the Halfway House, a former cafe halfway up the Wrekin that is currently closed.
Pauline Mack, of the charity, said the team was "absolutely delighted" when the news came through on Friday. She said the project to revitalise the Halfway House would go towards helping people with complex needs to get a new perspective on life.
Yellow Ribbon Community Chaplaincy supports men on release from prison and sees the cafe as a way of linking charities and "unlocking the potential of people" who have not had a comfortable upbringing.
Pauline said there is a lot of work to do in drawing down the money and a lot of work to do in getting the cafe ready to reopen, but that a re-opening sometime in May or June for the summer is on the cards. It is hoped that the cafe would be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with the site being used for other activities during term time week days.
"Everybody sees the Wrekin from a distance but not everybody gets the chance to experience it," said Pauline. "It will help us to help people see life from a different perspective for a healthier future.
"People do get transformed and changed so that they can influence others."
She added: "There is a process to go through to draw the money down which we hope will take a couple of months. We will be working as soon as we can."
Yellow Ribbon reached an agreement last summer to buy the Halfway House, which it hopes to use to connect people to rural areas, educate young people, and reform ex-prisoners.
