Work is progressing to open a new community café in Barrow Town Hall.
The new café is part of plans to revitalise and open up more of the town hall building to the community as part of a programme to re-locate facilities from the Forum while the venue is closed.
The plans include moving other Forum community services such as the banking hub, conferencing facilities, shows and events to the historic town hall.
The council has announced The Forum will now be staying open throughout April and the early part of May, with an opening date for the new facilities in the town hall confirmed for Wednesday, 14 May.
The community will continue to have access to the current café, toilets and venue box office in the Forum building until Monday, 12 May, when the Forum facilities will close for two days to allow the final equipment to be moved across to the town hall ready for the opening of the new town hall facilities on 14 May.
Steph Cordon, Director of Thriving Communities at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “Our teams have been working hard to minimise the impact on events and we have already been able to successfully re-locate or reschedule a number of shows, moving them to the town hall or other venues and have been keeping ticket holders informed about any venue changes.
“We’ve also been working hard on plans that will open up more of the town hall for community use while the Forum is closed.
“This is progressing really well and we think people will really enjoy being able visit more of the wonderful historic building.
“The café, public toilets, banking hub and Forum box office and information desk are all going on the ground floor to make it accessible for everyone and the cafe will be in a lovely space that really showcases the town hall’s architecture.
“We’ve always been very aware that the café in the Forum is not only a place where people enjoy a bite to eat and get a drink, it is also a welcoming and valuable community space in the town centre.
“Whether to purely meet and socialise with others, or to connect with supportive and trusted council team members, the café acts as a much-needed community hub, reducing loneliness while providing access to support and local information.
“When we knew we would need to close the Forum, one of our immediate priorities was to look to re-provide the café and toilet facilities to minimise impact on the community, as well as looking at how we could move shows and events, including the popular conference and meeting spaces.
“The Forum building will now be staying open for the next six week through April and into the early part of May, until we’re ready to move across to the town hall. This means the community will continue to have access to the café, toilets, box office and banking hub and we’ve been careful in our planning to ensure these facilities will remain available for the longest possible period.
“We may need to close the Forum building, but we will ensure that the Forum’s role - and the valuable contribution its many activities and facilities provide for the community - will continue in Barrow.’’