FUNDING from an affordable housing provider has helped create a village’s first community café.

Easington Social Welfare Centre has created the café for Easington Colliery thanks to funding from County Durham Housing Group.

Already, local knitting and St John Ambulance groups have expressed an interest in using the café to hold their meetings. A host of other groups are also considering the café in Seaside Lane as a base.

The housing group provided £500 through its group grant programme to kit out the café with furniture, meeting around half of the set up costs.

Housing group funding officer Damian Pearson, said: “Easington Social Welfare Centre spotted a clear need in the community and found a solution that didn’t need a huge amount of funding to bring to fruition. It’s exactly the kind of project that our grant programme was created to help.”

Stephen Fergus, secretary of Easington Social Welfare Centre said: “This grant has helped us to build a sustainable future. It might have been a relatively small amount but the impact it has already had has snowballed and benefitted the whole community. ”