A volunteer community hub and tearoom that is being used by a TV crew to film a forthcoming episode of BBC detective show Ludwig, has launched an emergency appeal for funding amid concerns it may have to close due to financial concerns.

The Liberty Tea Rooms and Community Hub in Hemel Hempstead is looking to raise £25,000 by the end of October “to support the growth and sustainability of this important cause”.

A JustGiving fundraiser set up by its chair Mark Kitson explains that its trustees had met recently “to look at our very tight finances and consider whether we should close”.

They decided to attempt to keep the charity open and instead “set about cutting costs and building closer partnership with churches across Hemel to get more people involved”.

However, Kitson warns that the charity is "still very low on finances while we wait for the changes to take effect and so we wanted to invite people to donate".

In a separate social media post Kitson told supporters that “we find ourselves in a time of financial challenge”.

“Funding for charities has been under severe pressure for several years, and this has affected everyone in the sector. This year this has continued to be the case for Liberty Tea Rooms.”

So far just under £6,000 has been raised from 67 supporters.

The Tea Rooms has been temporarily closed this week while it is used by the TV crew for filming for an episode for the third season of Ludwig, which stars David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin.



Kitson explains that its fixtures and fittings had been removed and replaced during filming by the crew as the venue was turned into a bank, which the site was before it became a community venue. It is due to reopen on 7 October.

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