Roots café is back on Queen Street, Wednesdays and Fridays 10am to 2pm, in a new extension part-paid for with £250,000 of pooled developer levy.
Wymondham Baptist Church has opened The Canopy, a new extension on Queen Street built as a base for community groups. The church put the cost at £532,000.
The church’s website says the building work is complete and the space is “open and already in use”. Its Roots Community Café moved in on Wednesday 9 September.
South Norfolk MP Ben Goldsborough cut the ribbon on Saturday 5 September. The same weekend the church marked 230 years of Christian worship in Wymondham.
Where the money came from
The biggest single grant was public money. South Norfolk Council’s Cabinet approved £250,000 for the “Wymondham Baptist Community Space” on 10 February 2025.
That grant came from the Greater Norwich Growth Board’s Infrastructure Investment Fund. The fund is fed by pooled Community Infrastructure Levy, the charge councils collect from housing developers. The Cabinet report put the whole project at £577,712 at that stage.
When the grant was announced, the council described the scheme as:
- a 128 square metre extension to the church
- built to an eco-efficient design
- a reception and open-plan area that meets accessibility standards
- a base for a community café, a foodbank, support groups and advice services
The church’s own funding list, published in July, names nine other backers alongside the growth board. They include South Norfolk Council’s Pride in Place fund, Wymondham Town Council, the South Norfolk Community Action Fund, Benefact Trust and the Garfield Weston Foundation.
The church also says air conditioning has been fitted and parts of the existing building redecorated. It says the school rooms are the final stage.
What happens there each week
The church lists these regular sessions on its website:
- Roots Community Café: Wednesdays and Fridays, 10am to 2pm. The café page says it is open to everyone and run by volunteers.
- Thrive@Roots: Tuesdays from 2.30pm in term time, for school years 7 to 13. It reopened on 16 September.
- Youth club: Friday nights.
- Sunday service: 10.30am, lasting about 90 minutes.
The warm space: check before you go
Home from Home is the church’s registered Warm Welcome space. Its own page says it runs on Thursdays from 1.30pm to 4.30pm. Tea, coffee, home-made cakes and warm snacks are free. There are games, jigsaws and craft activities.
The two church pages do not agree on when it restarts. The homepage says most weekday activities, including Home from Home, open in The Canopy from 9 September. The Home from Home page says the church hopes to reopen it in October or November. Ring the church office before making a special trip.
What it means for you
- A café that is open to anyone. No membership, no booking. Roots runs on Wednesdays and Fridays at Wymondham Baptist Church, Queen Street, NR18 0AY.
- Somewhere warm this winter. Home from Home is free on Thursday afternoons once it restarts.
- Parking is tight. The church asks visitors to walk if they can, or to use a town car park and leave its few spaces for people with limited mobility. Our Wymondham parking page lists the car parks and charges.
- Coming up at the church: a harvest supper on Saturday 26 September, according to its events page. The homepage also advertises café church on Sunday 27 September.
The church office is on 01953 606520 or office@wymondhambaptist.org.
For more ideas across the town, see things to do in Wymondham.
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