A new community café will be opening in Oakhill this autumn.

More than £85,000 has been raised from grants and fundraising activities in just over a year, and now work is well underway on creating the new space in the village hall.

An old garage, store room and changing room have been knocked through and are being transformed into a new kitchen and café area.

"It will be a really wonderful space and a real asset to the village," said Caroline Ambrose, one of the members of the village hall committee which is behind the project.

"We hope it will be a real hub for the community. In the village we have regular meetings for Ukrainians who are living all around the area to come and meet, so to have the café for that in itself will be amazing."

Although much of the main construction work, and the kitting out of the kitchen (complete with a new coffee machine) is complete, the café still needs to be furnished, and the committee are hoping that there may be a café that no longer needs its chairs and tables that would be willing to donate – or that a local business might help them out with a donation to buy the furniture that they need to get the café up and running.

It is planned that it will be entirely run by volunteers, with all the money raised going back into the village hall coffers to help fund future projects, such as new outdoor equipment for older children and teenagers in the neighbouring recreation field.

"It will be small steps to start with," said Caroline. "We will start with drinks and cakes, and then hopefully expand into things like bacon baps, and maybe one day we will be able to have a full lunch menu.

"We need volunteers to help run the café, and people who like baking to regularly make us cakes that we can sell."

The plan is to get the café open later this autumn so that it is properly up and running in time for the Oakhill Christmas Market on December 3.

Anyone who is interested in volunteering or baking for the café, or can help with furniture should email [email protected].