A YEAR-LONG quest to raise funds for a youth cafe in Tiptree may soon be over.

The Rev Jonathan Greenwood, a director of Tiptree’s One Way Community Trust, has applied for a grant of £40,000, from the Essex Community Fund to cover the remaining costs.

He said: “We are just waiting to hear back from the community fund before we can proceed with the project.”

The trust was set up last year to raise £100,000 to build and run a youth cafe. Mr Greenwood, and his trust colleagues, want to refit an old supermarket, in Church Road, to make room for the cafe.

The idea is to give young people something to do and keep them off the streets.

The plan has been supported by residents and local businesses who have helped raise £25,000 for the project already.

The original £100,000 estimate has been cut to £62,000 thanks to the trust’s hard work.

Mr Greenwood said: “We’ve been able to reduce our costs, and we are now very close to getting the go-ahead to begin the project.”

If the grant application is successful, the site would require a complete refit, including a new heating system, toilets and an office.