Staff fear for their jobs as a popular café is set to close for refurbishment and put out for tender.

The opening times have been slashed significantly as the closing date of March 22 approaches for Golf Course Café, in Bury Road, Chingford.

Staff, of which there are four in winter, were told the café was going to close permanently but have since been informed that it will undergo a major refurbishment before a new leaseholder is found.

Weekday opening times have now reduced from 7.30am to 4pm, to 8.30am to 3.30pm.

At weekends too, times have been slashed from 7am to 4pm, to 8.30am to 3.30pm.

Jake Weaver, of Ibbetson Path, Debden, has been working at the café for three years to fund his Anglia Ruskin University course in Journalism.

The 20-year-old said: “It is a bit of a shock that we may not have a job anymore and we have been looking around for other jobs.

“No one at the Corporation of London has spoken to us and we don’t know why this has happened.

“The job means so much to me so we want answers about the future."

Karen Allworthy, 57, of Sunnyside Drive, Chingford, is a regular at the café and she fears for the future of the current staff.

She said: “It is friendlier than other cafes in the area so it would be very sad if the staff lose their jobs.

“It is a very busy café which opens very early in the morning.

"A lot of people want answers on what is going to happen.

“Runners and walkers use it and at weekends sometimes you can’t get in the door.”

A spokeswoman for the City of London Corporation said it was unable to comment on whether the current staff team will keep their jobs.

She said: “The contract with the current operator at the Golf Course Café at Chingford comes to an end in March.

“We are taking the opportunity to make facility improvements, including increasing the size of the café, and will re-open the site as soon as possible once a new lease has been tendered.”