Grand opening planned for cafe

Anchorsholme councillors Tony Williams and Paul Galley announced the good news as building work on the cafe, which is contained within Anchorsholme library, drew to a close.

Coun Williams said: “Many years ago, when I was first a councillor, I had the unfortunate decision forced upon me to close two of the libraries in Blackpool.

“It was a very difficult decision and I vowed there and then I would look for ways to serve and improve our libraries, and this is an ideal way to do it.

“We’re hoping it will open within the next couple of weeks and we will have a grand opening in August.”

The cafe cost £6,500 to build and is funded by Blackpool Council. It will be staffed by young people from the Centre for Independent Living, on Whitegate Drive, as they prepare to enter work for the first time.

Coun Williams said: “It will be bright and colourful, with clear pathways planned out on the floor.

“It’s specially designed to enable people with dementia to easily make their way around so they don’t get confused.”

Coun Galley said he sees the cafe as a boost for the community and the library.

He added: “We wanted it to be dementia-friendly, and that means bright colours and large print, which will benefit all users of the cafe. It will be open to everyone.

“It’s more than a cafe – it represents a real injection to the community that will bring everybody together and will also bring in an income for the library.”