A GROUP which serves up hot meals to elderly people four days a week fears it could be forced to close – unless a new venue can be found.

Haddington Lunch Club has been running for more than 30 years and meets Monday to Thursday in the town’s Corn Exchange.

However, the Court Street venue will shut on February 4 for nine months ahead of an extensive refurbishment programme.

With little over a week before the closure, the group still has no new home.

Emily Armatage, lunch club co-ordinator, feared the group could be forced to fold.

She said: “We are in limbo – we don’t know what we are going to do.”

A number of venues have been looked at but ruled out for a number of reasons.

Mrs Armatage said: “The group will fold if there is nowhere to go.

“In the whole of Haddington there is nothing. The Town House is a no because they have not got cooking facilities and it is upstairs. The Trinity Centre is no good because it is busy.

“We have tried the schools and the bowling club was looked into but our community kitchen is there four days a week.

“The West Church, we looked at that and they said they could not help us.”

The group could be forced to look outside Haddington if it is to survive, with Macmerry Village Hall being considered.

That, however, brings other issues, with the hall only available three days a week and the issue of transporting the dozen or so clients to the building.

The group, which is run by volunteers, serves up two courses four days a week.

Dishes range from soup followed by cod with cauliflower cheese to lamb followed by rice pudding and apples.

Talks between the lunch club and East Lothian Council have been ongoing since October.

More than £800,000 was set aside by the council in 2017 for the Corn Exchange, which is used by a variety of groups including sports clubs.

The work includes new storage for the main hall, replacing the floor, new roof lights and decoration. There will be additional toilets installed with full accessibility. Meanwhile, the back hall will be upgraded with a new kitchen installed and roofing and drainage works will also be carried out.

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council said: “A number of alternatives have been suggested to the lunch club and discussions continue to find a suitable alternative.”