THE café in the Westbury Community Project (WCP) on Eden Vale Road, is open and ready for business!
Kevin Down, WCP development manager, has called on the local community to make use of the venue following a £140,000 refurbishment which now includes a brand-new café, after the building was heavily vandalised last year.
“We spent a ballpark figure of around £140,000 which covered the plumbing, electrics, various alarms and of course, our new café,” he said. “We worked to replace everything that was vandalised when the place was empty.
“We spent about £16,000 just renovating the café and were very lucky to have most of our furniture donated by Waste to Wonders, which is a company that sends containers of furniture to people down on their luck. It’s really been a community effort to get this back to how it was.”
The café is now open from 8.30am-10.30am and 2.30pm-4.30pm Monday to Friday and Kevin is hoping residents will make use of it.
One happy customer, Ellis White said, “I think it’s great we’ve finally got somewhere local to go. It’s in such a good location and so easy to get to. I will definitely be using it more regularly.”
Westbury Community Project, which was created in the town’s former youth centre building, began a gradual opening last September to provide a base for groups and activities for all ages. The project is led by Richard Hatt, chair of trustees and Kevin Down, development manager. During its development, the centre faced a major setback when vandals wrecked the premises, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Richard and Kevin praised local businesses and the community who helped repair the centre.
Kevin continued, “It’s taken a while to find the right person with the right qualifications to lead and take charge of the café – it’s neither mine nor Richard’s forte. We’ve now found Shirley King who is an ex-landlady of various pubs and clubs in the area and well known in the local area, so we’re hoping that attracts some customers.
“I just want to say that we’re back after the vandalism and here for the community. I’d advise people to come in or call to check availability as we’re getting busier and busier. We’ve got Slimming World Warminster, and Westbury Youth Club, Spurgeons the children’s charity, Westbury food bank and the community fridge and Splash who give respite for young carers in the area – we’ve got a lot going on in terms of community projects.”
Kevin said that local companies and individuals help support the centre financially. “It is completely community-orientated and run by locals for locals.
“I’d just like to thank all the support we’ve received so far and all the people who have used not just the café, but the building itself. It’s such an iconic building in the area, people will remember having their first disco in here – they all remember it and we want to rejuvenate the building a bit more and make it feel loved.”
Westbury Community Project welcomes more volunteers to help. Kevin added, “We could always do with some more volunteers, even if it’s just sweeping up once a week or help to serve in the café; it would just give me the freedom to do my job and promote the building.”
You can find the café on Instagram at @w.c.p_café and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WCPwilts.org.uk
For more information and how to book the centre, visit the WCP website at https://wcpwilts.org.uk/ or email Kevin on kevin. down@wcpwilts.org.uk
Pictured above: Kevin Down, WCP Development Manager, and Shirley King who runs the kitchen. Other pictures, happy customers enjoying their coffee during the open day.
