A NEW alcohol-free bar will open in Nottingham – thanks to a £340,419 grant.
Double Impact is one 11 projects across the East Midlands to receive a share of more than £3 million from the Big Lottery Fund.
The money will enable the charity to open an alcohol-free bar, where people can meet for a coffee or meal during the day and for entertainment in the evening.
Chief executive Graham Miller said the new café and club was aimed at everyone.
"This is going to be a quality venue that offers an alternative to all those places serving alcohol," he said. "There isn't anywhere like it in Nottingham at the moment and we hope it will become a destination – for business people during the day and for families and groups of friends at night who just want to sit, see some music or comedy somewhere that's not part of the alcohol scene.
"It's about challenging people's stigmas and attitudes to both addicts and alcohol.
"We wouldn't be able to do it without the Big Lottery's involvement – it's too big – but they've given us the kick-start we need and now we have to work to make it a success."
The bar will be open by the end of the year.
A building is yet to be secured but will be in the city centre and will seat around 140 people.
All profit will be invested back in to Double Impact and the bar will also provide employment and training for service users.
Part of the grant will also be spent on a recovery recruitment programme.
Poet Georgia Brown, 43, of Sherwood, first got in touch with Double Impact about three-and-a-half-years ago when she was struggling with a heroin and alcohol addiction. She is now about to start training to become a life coach.
"This venue is something I've been looking for for a long time because there's evenings when you want to go out but don't want to see people inebriated," she said.
A grant of £278,297 also went to Newark and Notts Child Bereavement and Loss Centre and £265,847 to POW Nottingham, for people involved in or affected by prostitution.