A NEW café at Enham Trust is now the latest social space for residents to call their own.

The disability charity officially launched its £130,000 refurbishment project on Friday, which saw old offices converted to a café, newly fitted full-disabled access toilets with a hoist and a renewal of the trust’s discovery centre.

The opening brought together members of the community for an event filled with freshly baked cakes made by the café’s trainees, while Sir Freddie Viggers, a former British Army officer and former trustee of Enham Trust, cut the ribbon to mark the official opening.

Enham Trust head of day opportunities Sharon Manzur said: “The idea came from our residents who said we need a place to meet family and friends.

“Most cafés are not as big as this, people with wheelchairs always find it hard going to many normal cafés so we designed this and the toilets to be big. There’s also adjustable units for wheelchairs, adaptable kitchen and café space for people with disabilities.

“The focus is it’s a training café, to give anybody who wants the opportunity of work experience who needs more support, to give them further skills to either move into volunteering or employment.”

One café trainee and Enham Trust resident Megan Appleby said she comes in every Friday and that she has had a lot of training for the role.

Megan said: “I do enjoy working at the café, I usually do the cash register. There’s no bits I don’t like it is all great because it is preparing me for paid work.”

The café currently opens Monday to Friday, staffing one full-time staff member, two volunteers and two trainees a day who work a four-hour shift.

The social space aims to gradually expand its opening hours and open on Saturdays as the project gets off the ground.

Volunteer Maggie Bowman said: “It is making a terrific difference, more clients are coming down now it gets them out of their rooms and buildings they are in, it is good for them.

“We have lots of regulars now, one lad has a hot chocolate every day and has got a loyalty card so we are stamping his card every time he has his hot chocolate.”

Resident Hamish Fell also said he was very excited about the café and visits every day.

Enham Trust chief executive Heath Gunn said: “The great thing about this is it really grounds you in why we are here and is something that helps them improve what they want to do with their lives.

“It is something that is theirs and rightly so see this as theirs, we mould it to suit their lives and they come up with the best suggestions they live here 24 hours a day.”

The charity’s next project is to move the site’s activity centre, Choices, in to a permanent home and include new features such as a stage and changing room “with a star on the door” as key things the residents want.

To find out more about the café go to enhamtrust.org.uk/cafe.