Amelia Trust Farm is a special place for many in the local community. For some, it’s a place of learning. For others, it’s a great way to enjoy the countryside, see the animals, walk in the woodland, and have family fun in the outdoors.

It’s also home for three different charities- the Amelia Trust, the Innovate Trust and Woody’s Lodge who all share the same values of putting people first. Together they support disadvantaged young people, adults with learning disabilities, and veterans of the armed forces, who all benefit from the therapeutic environment at the Farm.

Amelia Trust has exciting new plans to transform its old café building into a space with improved access and facilities for people with disabilities including the creation of an Adult Changing Space. There are also plans to introduce measures to make the building more environmentally sustainable with better roof insulation, new double glazing and the introduction of micro-renewables.

Director of Amelia Trust, Karen Turnbull said, “We are very excited that following submission of our first stage grant applications to the Welsh Government and the National Lottery for funding to refurbish the café building at the Farm, we have been invited to the second stage of the process. Whilst this does not mean we have been guaranteed funding, it does mean we are one step closer to success and achieving our vision for a Community Café where no one feels excluded”.

Thanks to a grant from the Vale of Glamorgan’s Strong Communities Fund Amelia Trust has been consulting with stakeholders and others in the local community to find out what future developments people would like to see at the Farm. As a result, Dennis Hellyar Architects has been appointed to put together plans for a Community Café which will incorporate an Adult Changing Space, a new entrance with improved access, and measures to transform an old building into a more environmentally sustainable space.

The new Community Café will be an important hub for volunteers at the Farm, many of whom value the opportunity to work at the Farm because it provides social networks to combat loneliness and isolation and improve wellbeing. For others, volunteering in the new Community Café will help them to develop new skills in a supportive environment, empowering them to test out possible new career paths. The newly refurbished building will also provide a central meeting space for community groups such as mothers and toddlers, book clubs and photography groups.

If you or your community group are interested in finding out more about this project or you think you or your group could benefit from working with Amelia Trust please email general@ameliatrust.org.uk or call 01446 782030.