The team at a cat sanctuary are purring with joy having secured an offer of a new venue.

Here we go!

But the North Norfolk Cats Lifeline Trust now has to battle through a mountain of paperwork before it can move ahead with plans to relocate to a plot of land next to the village hall in Antingham, near North Walsham.

The sanctuary, which has cared for and helped find homes for hundreds of cats over the past 20 years, was told it had to leave its home in South Hollow, Sheringham, by April 30.

Luckily an offer was made by the committee of Antingham Village Hall to lease land nearby its premises, which is pending planning approval.

Sandra Branch-Burbridge, cats trust trustee, said she was delighted the sanctuary now had somewhere to go.

North Norfolk News: (From left to right) Sandra Branch-Burbridge, Trustee, and Volunteers, Linda Bladwin, Louise Piper and Julia Teliatnikova at North Norfolk Cats Lifeline Sanctuary in Sheringham. Picture: Ella Wilkinson(From left to right) Sandra Branch-Burbridge, Trustee, and Volunteers, Linda Bladwin, Louise Piper and Julia Teliatnikova at North Norfolk Cats Lifeline Sanctuary in Sheringham. Picture: Ella Wilkinson (Image: Archant)

Ms Branch-Burbridge said: 'The lovely people at Antingham said they had a piece of land they were looking for someone to make use of.

'It was just a godsend. It also means we'll have a village hall right next to us, so we should be able to use that for fundraising events.

'We all agreed that it seemed like the best and only option put forward to us, but it's a bit of a logical nightmare at the moment because there's so much red tape to deal with.'

MORE: Time is running out for cat charity to find a new homeMs Branch-Burbridge said things would likely not be ready by the April 30 deadline, so the trust would have to foster out its resident cats for a short time as a stopgap measure.

North Norfolk News: Bernadette the cat. Picture: Ella WilkinsonBernadette the cat. Picture: Ella Wilkinson (Image: Archant)

She said: 'We've had to put our rescue work on hold for the moment to make sure that we don't have quite so many cats to foster out if we do have to go down that route.

'So we can't actually take in any new cats at the moment unless it's an absolute emergency. But people have come forward with offers to help us move, and we're feeling a bit more optimistic that we can do it.'

The sanctuary typically has 40-50 cats in residence and helps more than 100 each year. The trust shelters stray and abandoned cats and finds them new homes, or lets them live out the remainder of their lives in peace.

Anyone who can help can call 01263 822560 or email secretary.nnclt@gmail.com.

North Norfolk News: Vesta the cat. Picture: Ella WilkinsonVesta the cat. Picture: Ella Wilkinson (Image: Archant)

More details about the trust and their cats in need of adoption can be found online at northnorfolkcats.co.uk/adoption.

North Norfolk News: Volunteer JuliaTeliatnikova with cat Vicky at North Norfolk Cats Lifeline Sanctuary in Sheringham. Picture: Ella WilkinsonVolunteer JuliaTeliatnikova with cat Vicky at North Norfolk Cats Lifeline Sanctuary in Sheringham. Picture: Ella Wilkinson (Image: Archant)