Churchill Gardens community café, Boscombe BH1 4ES
BCP Council has selected a new supplier to operate the community café in Churchill Gardens. The Minstead Trust will take over the running of the café from January 2027, having been successful in a recent tender process.
The Minstead Trust (Minstead Trust | Supporting Neuro disabled people) manage other cafés and facilities as part of their work to support communities and neuro-disabled people.
The tender process was very competitive with strong bids from community-based organisations, all with expertise in locality working and café operations. The Council evaluated the tender returns against a range of factors that sought to understand the suppliers’ ability to work positively with the community, operate a high-quality offering in the relatively small café building. The grow-zone will also be part of the operation, providing some supervision and supporting use of the facility.
BCP Council would like to thank the Joy Café team for their work building up the café since it opened in 2021, for their engagement with the community, and wider support of Churchill Gardens.
Funding has also been found to significantly improve the play area at Churchill Gardens through the Plan for Play project; works will be phased, with the first phase due to start early October – details at bcpprojects.net/plan-for-play/concept-plans
The original tender opportunity, april 2026
BCP Council is seeking a concessionaire for Churchill Gardens community café, to lease the building for a period of 5 years, which we anticipate would commence September 2026.
The café is housed in a relatively new (installed 2021/22) modular building located in the centre of a busy, community-focussed park. The building features a main café area, with a kitchen and servery along with a disabled toilet. There is an adjoining area that can be separated by sliding doors with a community area, kitchenette, storage and a second toilet. It is sited immediately adjacent to the children’s play area & ball court; it is anticipated that funding will be found to significantly improve the play area as part of the Council’s current Plan for Play project.
The successful concessionaire will manage and run a thriving café operation alongside supporting a wide range of community interests, activities, and events within the park. The Council manages community parks to support public health, volunteering, and nature recovery; the concessionaire should understand and work to this concept. Further information on the management approach can be found at Future Parks and Nature Towns.
There is also a ‘grow zone’ of raised beds adjacent to the café and the Council is seeking light touch management of this facility by the Operator.
The Contract is offered to a suitably experienced Operator to manage Churchill Gardens Cafe and grow zone. The services required are the sale of hot (cooked to order) and cold food, barista style coffee, tea, ice creams, mineral waters, beverages. A selection of healthy food options and special dietary provisions (e.g., gluten-free, vegan, etc) should also be available as part of the menu offer. There are also optional items that can be sold including sweets, other light refreshments etc.
The response window for this opportunity closed 26 June 2026.
