A vision to recreate a youth cafe at John Bunyan Baptist Church more than 40 years after it was used as a hangout for the town’s mods and rockers has moved a step closer with a £44,000 grant.

Kingston and Wimbledon YMCA and church group Oxygen has secured the cash from Kingston Council’s youth panel. They are now pressing ahead to create a cafe for the heart of the town centre.

Jonathan Melville-Thomas, youth work director at the YMCA, said: “The proposal for a late night youth cafe was widely consulted and agreed upon by groups of young people, the council and many other interested parties. We are very excited that so many have united around this shared vision.”

The basement of the church, in Queen Elizabeth Road, will now undergo a major revamp with the grant and will cater for young people aged 13 to 19 on Friday and Saturday nights.

Youth workers will be on hand to offer support and guidance to youngsters and the vision is to expand the cafe to host activities throughout the week.

Richard James, from Oxygen, said the project was long overdue.

He said: “Our wish is that young people have a high quality resource as well as a safe and entertaining place to go.”

The space is already open for a pilot scheme and a grand opening is hoped for in October.