A MUCH-LOVED tea room which was forced to close during the pandemic will re-open its doors later this month with a new look.

The Hadleigh Farm Estate tea room will be run by adults with additional needs who attend the Hadleigh Salvation Army training centre.

The news of the re-opening has been met with an outpouring of support from customers keen to take a look.

The revamped tea room will feature new decor, a new menu and new uniforms all chosen to by the adults who will be working on site.

Salvation Army community engagement co-ordinator, Sarah Withington, said: “We are planning on a low-key trial opening period later this month for a few weeks before we close for Christmas.”

Ms Withington added that further information regarding this “soft launch” will be available on Hadleigh Farm Estate social media channels and their website, with plans for an even bigger relaunch to be set for next year, though the team is “still working as to what this will look like”.

Hadleigh Conservative councillor Jacqui Thornton welcomed the announcement.

She said: “Hadleigh Tea Room is a wonderful place and the work they do is absolutely superb, they have my full support.

“We’ve worked with the trainees in the past from there, they help the environment and put up hanging baskets in Hadleigh, they do a lot of good work and I cannot fault their work and when they were open it was such a happy environment,”

Mrs Thornton added that the environment is safe and the staff are excellent.

The closure of the tea rooms in 2020 led to a food distribution service being introduced and run from the site, with volunteers helping to sort through deliveries and pack bags of food and essential items, to meet a need in the local community.

According to Hadleigh Farm Estate: “After 12 months and 160,000 parcels of food and essential supplies delivered to households in need, we stepped back from this service to focus on serving the community in different ways.”

Following the end of this initiative, the reopening plans commenced with the decision to redesign the tea room with new colours, furniture and new equipment, the new menu considers what the trainees can accomplish.