A COMMUNITY cafe is celebrating its 10th anniversary – with big plans in store for the future.

Based in the hall of Lymm’s United Reformed Church, the Sanctuary café is open daily and is run by a spirited group of volunteers.

And with 10 successful years under their belts, these staff members have big plans for the café’s future.

“The café is somewhere for people to go which is not as expensive as the chain stores across the town,” said married volunteers Sue and Dave Eadon.

“We get a good mix of people come to us including mothers who bring their children and grandchildren and also the older members of the community.

“The café can get quite busy though with all the people we get visiting so we are in the process of extending the hall to make more room.”

Plans have been submitted to Warrington Borough Council’s planning department to extend the church hall and it is hoped that work can begin sooner rather than later.

“We are looking at extending the building to make the kitchen bigger and fit for purpose," Sue said.

“The building was built in the 1960s and the kitchen is really only suitable for domestic rather than commercial use.

“We give the room regular coats of paint to make it look nice, but we could do with a bigger space with new insulation, glazing, heating and lighting.”

The cost of the renovations is predicted to be around £400,000, with the costs being met by Lymm United Reformed Church, grants from Mersey Synod and through fundraising by parishioners and volunteers.

“It’s going to be a big task raising the money needed and some people say we will need a miracle, but were definitely in the right place,” joked Dave.

“Lymm URC has some funds guaranteed, some promised and are actively looking for grants to help reach the total before work starts.

“It may mean that we have to do the renovations in stages, but if that’s what it takes then that’s what we’ll do.”

The people who attend the café praised its role in the community and believe the plans to extend the building will allow it to flourish.

Linked with the café is the Sanctuary Hub charity, which has recently moved in to the adjacent building next to Lymm Library.

After Sure Start and the Citizens Advice Bureau left building, the council proposed closing the library down.

But with the charity’s help, the library is now safe and the building is in full use.

The hub itself is getting ready to open fully and offer events and business space for the community.

“Once we’re fully set up, we’ve got a lot to offer the people of Lymm,” said the centre manager Kirsty James.

“Upstairs we have a business hub and meeting room where people can hot desk, get work done and get the best use out of the space.

“On the ground floor we have space for workshops such as counselling support, our memory café, health and wellbeing classes and foreign language tutoring.”

Details about events at both the Sanctuary Café and Hub can be found on their Facebook pages, and well as contact information for those looking to donate towards the extension work.