Cafe space
From "Phase 1: Understanding your neighbourhood and establishing a vision (map)"
Go to the project
I'd love to see a really good community cafe/bakery in the Campkin Road area, possibly on the Jenny Wren site. The only other cafe facility in the area is the Arbury Community Centre, which is only really open during school hours (so not accessible to those who work 9-5) and not the most inspiring (although it always seems busy and serves lots of purposes). Previously there was Cafe Camtown, but that has moved out of the area due to the Buchan Street development. I'd love somewhere you could get a cup of tea and a cake, a weekend breakfast, a pizza and a beer on a Friday night. It wouldn't be a pub so not somewhere people could drink to excess so I think it wouldn't have an impact in terms of anti-social behaviour if a limited number of alcoholic beverages were available for a few evening hours per day. It would be somewhere for my elderly neighbours to meet each other outside of their houses, somewhere for my mum to take my children for a hot chocolate, somewhere to pick up a fresh sandwich before getting the bus to work, somewhere for CRC students to buy lunch, tradesmen on their way to/from Screwfix could get food and drinks, somewhere for teenagers to get a milkshake, it could do catering for events etc. In that area I think it could do well. The council only ever seem to provide new community centres, which consist of empty rooms, but I feel like they need to take a different look at what community facilities are (which would be pubs back in the day). It could exhibit local art and have small acoustic gigs. It would provide part-time work in the local area.
Examples of this are places like: Evolve Cafe In Waterbeach (which includes a gym - how amazing would that be?), Stir in Histon and Chesterton (which has a community room and is next to a yoga studio) Station House in Histon, the Edge Cafe on Mill Rd. Cafes like Michael house and the Cottenham Community Centre cafe also serve as churches. Relevant Records serves as a cafe and shop. The Coffee House in Wulfstan Way is in a similarly residential area. I've also seen very similar venues in places like Norwich, Southwold, Bishops Stortford etc.
Currently if we want to go for a cuppa and cake or more my family drive out of Cambridge. I don't particularly want to have to, but the local facilities are lacking.