A COMMUNITY café is to be extended after being awarded extra funding.

The café at Bullion Hall Community Resource Centre, in Chester-le-Street, has won a £45,000 Biffa Award grant to pay for a complete refurbishment.

The money will mean the café can be enlarged, expanding its capacity from the current 15 seats up to 36 seats by extending into an adjoining bar and meeting room.

It will also pay for a complete redesign of the kitchens, replacing existing units and installing two new fridge freezers and a cooker.

The Wait’er While café is staffed by a team of adults with learning disabilities who prepare a range of lunches and buffets to seven charities housed in the building.

Jennifer Elliott, chairwoman of Bullion Hall Community Resource Centre, said: “We are really excited to hear the great news that funding from Biffa Award has been approved.

“The Wait ‘er While cafe is the heart of Bullion Hall, a modern, updated kitchen will make such a difference to both the people who work in the kitchen as well as the projects that Bullion Hall is able to develop”.

The Biffa Award grant comes from a multi-million pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through awarding grants to community and environmental projects across the UK, as part of the Landfill Communities Fund.

Gillian French, from Biffa Awards, said: “This cafe is clearly an asset to the centre, this project is an excellent example of how the Landfill Communities Fund can be used to support outstanding spaces for the community.”