July 1, 2010
We’re ready to go! With final funding now in place from the South West Regional Development Agency, we’re delighted to be able to pass on the good news that we’ve now got the green light to bring in the builders at last. It’s taken a long time, but with the support of our funders, fundraisers, and partners, and many people’s hard work, we’ve reached a milestone in the project. Our full press release is below, and there’ll be more news soon on plans from here on, but in the meantime, huge thanks to everyone who’s made a contribution, and we’re looking forward to that first coffee!
Rail passengers at Yatton station will soon have somewhere to get a coffee. After two years hard work, the Strawberry Line Cafe Project now has enough money to restore the downside station building, which is Grade II listed and originally designed by IK Brunel himself. Work will start in July.
A grant of £148,985 providing the major part of the restoration cost, comes from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) through the South West of England Regional Development Agency. The Railway Heritage Trust has contributed £65,000 towards the restoration of heritage features in the building.
All the existing Victorian oak panelling is to be professionally stripped and refurbished, including the external timber panels of the original rear extension to the building. The former office, waiting room and toilets will be refurbished, as well as the two rooms at the western end of the building. Efforts have been made in the design to make the building more sustainable by putting in an environmentally friendly foul drainage system and rain water flushing for the toilets. Heating will be by a wood burning stove, fuelled by recycled waste wood.
One of the project’s directors, Marina van Vessem, is a rail commuter herself who has long had a wish for a coffee while she waited for her train. She said, “We are very excited that funders have wanted to support our work. We want to meet the community’s needs and will provide a training venue for people with learning disabilities who want to work in catering. We know there is a big need for this kind of establishment. We also hope to involve lots of local people in a variety of ways and we know that many people will be delighted to see this historic building brought back into use”.
The Strawberry Line Cafe Project Community Interest Company (CIC) was formed in 2008 after the Brandon Trust had to step down from the leading position in the partnership. A CIC is a form of social enterprise whose profits are put back into the community. Marina said, “We have to be profitable so from that point of view we are a business trading within the same financial constraints as any other. The big difference is that we will not be making profits for individuals or a parent company. We will be rooted in the community and we are here to help people. We plan to work with local businesses and use local suppliers whenever we can to strengthen our local community. We are very grateful that Yatton Parish Council and local Freemasons have both recognised the value of our project and have given us funding at a critical stage”.
The CIC has received a number of small grants over the past two years which have paid for the project development and professional fees. Special support has come from TLT solicitors in Bristol, who gave corporate legal work free of charge after one of their partners spotted a notice on the station when his train was cancelled and he wanted a coffee. Other donated professional work which was equally vital to the project’s success was given by commercial agents Alder King, who carried out the lengthy lease negotiations with Network Rail and First Great Western.
Marina said that both paid and unpaid vacancies would be advertised soon, as the cafe hopes to be open for business in the autumn.
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