A new cafe at Ramsey Courthouse will give new job opportunities to members of the community who don’t otherwise have them.

The planned Heart Café is part of the regeneration of the former Courthouse in Ramsey, which will be run by a charity.

The Courthouse will be run by The Heart of Ramsey (THOR) after the building was bought by Ramsey Town Commissioners in 2017 from the Department of Home Affairs.

Included in THOR’s plans is the creation of the Heart Café, which will loosely follow the model of the Greenfields Park Café, in the grounds of Noble’s Hospital.

Greenfields Park Café runs as a state-of-the-art facility for adults with learning disabilities and has proved very popular since it was opened in December 2018.

It is hoped the Heart Cafe will be extremely popular and provide employment opportunities for members of the community with less opportunities.

THOR will run the Courthouse and the planning application showed that the ceiling above the main hall will be removed along with the suspended ceiling in the room above to open up the hall to the full height of the roof.

The interior of the building will, aside from the ceiling, remain unchanged in its layout. But the use of rooms will change. For example the former police cells will be retained with the commissioners suggesting they could be used as an office or a sound studio.

That will allow the main hall to be used for a variety of community events ranging from food markets to live performances, to film showing and residents’ meetings.

THOR obtained charitable status in November 2019 and is in the process of setting up bank accounts. Having established initial funds already, the charity has said it has a fundraising strategy to achieve their initial fund target of £200,000.

The overall objective of £500,000 is to complete the entire project including the repurposing of the rear yard area.

Having received planning approval, THOR is in the process of engaging a structural engineer for the project with a view to submit a building regulations application in March.

THOR has also had a meeting with an interior designer to consider internal finishes.

Ramsey Commissioners chairman Andy Cowie said the board was ’very pleased’ with the progress that has been made.

He added: ’The focus on community benefits and social inclusion within THOR’s plans will confirm the Courthouse as a popular location with broad appeal. In the meantime Ramsey Courthouse continues to be successfully operated by Ramsey Commissioners.

’The weekly Farmers’ Market has proved to be an extremely popular attraction bringing people into the town centre on a Saturday.

’The large range of community functions and events that have been held in the Courthouse continue to demonstrate its value to the town.’