New tenant sought for the community café

BCP Council is seeking an organisation to lease the Churchill Gardens community café, Boscombe for a period of up to 9 years 6 months, commencing summer 2023.

The café is the heart of a busy, community-focussed urban park and a tenant is sought that can manage and run a successful café operation alongside supporting a wide range of community interests, activities and events within the park.

• Any potential suppliers should register for free on the procurement portal to access any future opportunities, including at Churchill Gardens at www.supplyingthesouthwest.org.uk
• This page will be updated once the opportunity is formally advertised on the procurement portal

About the community café

BCP Council’s Greenspace Development team held a long-standing wish to revitalise Churchill Gardens through the Masterplan for Boscombe. Partnering with the Communities team on the Aspire programme meant that a new building could be realised at the centre of the park and the community, providing a modern accessible meeting point.

The modular building was installed & completed in July 2022, when the Joy Café moved in, having for 7 years served the local community firstly as a ‘pop-up’ in the park, and from 2018 in a converted shipping container. The café is open 6 days a week, and refreshments include freshly made hand roasted coffee, toasted sandwiches and delicious locally baked cakes including gluten-free and vegan choices.

The café is adjacent to the children’s play area, and the communal garden set up by Boscombe-based charity Grounded Community.

The aim of the Aspire programme has been to help long-term unemployed people boost their self-esteem & wellbeing by supporting them towards employability and healthier, more active lifestyles. Until April 2023 the new hub was home to a cookery club & a range of taster activities (including performing arts, gardening, dance, yoga, meditation & boxercise classes) delivered by The Aspire Project Boscombe. Although the Aspire Project at Boscombe came to an end on 31st March, the team are working with the providers who ran the activity sessions to work together to continue that provision until a new tenant can be found for the community café.

The original café structure (the converted shipping container) is due to be removed in 2023.