WORK has started on Yate’s new youth café.

Utility pipes are being laid to the site of the new £1.3million building, next to the town’s leisure centre at the junction of Kennedy Way and Station Road.

The first bricks to the long-awaited café are expected to be laid this summer.

Town councillor Chris Willmore, who has been involved with the project for more than a decade, said: "We have finally started. It is disappointing that not all the legal agreements have yet been signed but we have men on site putting the pipe work in."

The idea of providing a café for young people in Yate was first suggested by Yate Town Council more than 10 years ago but problems with location and finance had marred the project.

The town council and South Gloucestershire Council agreed to fund the project as a joint venture last year and planning permission was granted in January.

The cafe will take the shape of an armadillo with a large open café area and smaller seating sections inside. There will also be a stage for open mic nights, an outside seating area and meeting rooms.

It will be open seven days a week; Monday to Thursdays 4pm until 10pm, Fridays 4pm until 11pm, Saturdays from 11am until 11pm and Sundays from 12noon until 9pm. It will also open during the school holidays. The café is due to open in April 2011.