The newly opened ‘Height Bites’ Community Café welcomed local MP John Battle MP to their open day this week.

The café opened earlier this month on the Heights estate in Armley, and will be serving breakfasts, snacks and lunches every Thursday morning from 7.45am to 1.15pm. The café is located at the Church of the Ascension on Heights Drive and is managed by Revd Jane Twitty, curate of the church. Mr Battle was able to visit the café and speak to volunteers and local residents about how the plans for the café came about.

He said: “I want to thank Revd Twitty and all those who have helped get this project off the ground. It’s a great resource for the Heights estate – a place where people can meet and get a good meal. I was pleased to be able to come and see the café for myself and learn a bit more about how the idea for the café came about.”

The idea of using the premises of the church for a community café came out of a meeting in 2001. “Five years of planning and preparation on the part of many people have gone into making the idea of the café a reality,” said Mr Battle. “It really has the feeling that this is a venture on behalf of the whole community. Even the name ‘Height Bites’ was chosen through a competition held by the local primary school. I hope local people will make full use of this facility and that eventually it might be open on other days of the week too.”

The ‘Height Bites’ open day was held in order to give funders and other interested parties an opportunity to visit the café and hear the story of how it has reached this point. It is hoped that further funding and more volunteers will enable the café to be rolled out over more days.

©John Battle MP 19 October 2006