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A Nottingham charity has swooped in to save the Malt Cross - pledging to re-open the historic music hall this autumn.

Staff and patrons of the St James's Street cafe and bar were left heartbroken by its shock closure on July 18 but now Nottinghamshire YMCA has come to the rescue promising to "preserve the essence and heart" of the venue.

It also hopes to re-hire as many of the venue's staff as possible and is currently in talks with the former employees, who claim they were given no warning that it was shutting.

“As a charity already so invested in the rich history and values of the Malt Cross, this is an exciting development for us,” said Will Wakefield, chief executive officer of Nottinghamshire YMCA.

While the Malt Cross Trust will remain a separate registered charity, senior staff at Nottinghamshire YMCA have this week been approved as trustees of the organisation with a view to using their expertise to help steer the venue into a new chapter.

(Image: David Pittam)

“We are keen to preserve the essence and heart of a venue which has inspired such a strong sense of community, loyalty and historical intrigue for so many years," added Mr Wakefield.

“With plans to fully celebrate every wonderful and historical aspect the Malt Cross has to offer, we cannot wait to throw open the doors once again and breathe new life into this illustrious venue’s future.”

Built in 1877 as a music hall, the building became a cafe/bar in 2003. It had undergone a £1.4m revamp in 2014 thanks to cash from the National Lottery.

The special relationship between Nottinghamshire YMCA and Malt Cross has spanned many years, with the charity being actively involved with volunteering and hosting everything from quizzes and Christmas meals to events and fundraisers at the venue.

Former employee Rav Purwaha thought the new partnership sounded promising and welcomed the move to re-hire staff but added that changes should be made.

"I would love to go back," said the 23-year-old, of Wollaton, who worked at the bar and cafe on and off for six years.

He added: "It's quite exciting. It would be really cool to see them re-open the doors but I'd want to speak to someone to see what direction they would be going in. I would love to see changes made for the better because if they don't change the way they run things they will have the same problems next summer."

Patrons of the pub expressed their relief on social media.

"What a blooming relief that is," posted Danielle Perks on the Nottinghamshire Live Facebook page while Tina Beasley added: "That's great news."

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