Great Western Coffee Shop

This is a news page dated 19th July 2020 - latest/current information maintained at https://melkshamhub.co.uk

As from August 2020, the following car parking charges will apply at Melksham Station. From ((here)) (https://www.smartparking.com/melksham-hub-parking-information)

(http://www.wellho.net/pix/melkhub_prices_20200719.jpg)

Note that parking remains free of charge for up to 30 minutes, and that the car park is no longer reserved for just rail users.

The car park will be operated by Smart Parking  on behalf of TransWilts CIC who have taken out a lease on the land on 1st July 2020 from the owners who are Wiltshire Council.  Your car parking fees will pay for the operation and security of the car park and payment of the land lease. TransWilts is a not for profit company and any excess of income over expenditure will be re-invested in the CIC's Community aims.

As part of the TransWilts Hub, a cafe will also be provided https://melkshamhub.co.uk/hub-cafe/


Construction of the current south car park at Melksham Station was funded by the LSTF grant from central government about five years ago - see http://www.passengr.chat/15215 for the sort of things going on at that time. Since then, car parking has been free of charge - in many ways "under the radar" and small in nature.  However, with projected growth  - from https://melkshamhub.co.uk/our-plan/
to six times the current passenger numbers in the next six years, the car park, cleaning it, and securing in - and getting an income from the land - requires a new model.  As that page explains


And having the team described earlier responsible for security and cleanliness should help ensure that scenes like this (pictures this morning) become a thing of the past.  - My "Before" picture, to be followed up in the autumn, I hope, with an "After" picture.
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/melkhub_needclean_20200719.jpg)

Sadly, volunteer activity through Community Rail on stations is currently limited to light gardening activity ...otherwise volunteers could perhaps clean up locally.  I'm sure there are many other unstaffed stations around at present where there are scenes like this.   Please - if you are a user of the car park at Melksham Station, please help the team there to help you - put your litter in the bin/bag that is already provided.  And, of course, it will be very much easier to keep an eye on the area with Smart Parking's cameras, and the cafe staff on site in a couple of months.

I will admit I do not look forward to having to pay to park if I drive to the station to take the train, but I accept it as something of a necessity - and the waiver we have had as being a luxury that could not be extended.  I would rather park and pay than not have a train to use.   Of course, living on the cusp of walking distance to the station, I might well take to walking and spending my money not on parking but on a cup of coffee and a bacon butty - and in due course as I get more senile, I'll be taking the bus to the station and still enjoying that coffee!

Delighted to see a report of car park cleaning (by a paid person rather than volunteers who are on a forced break) on Twitter. The piles of rubbish that make what I pictured look puny!.   The problem of stuff left in this car park isn't new - Wiltshire Council cleaned it from time to time the it was in their direct parking portfolio.  The four additions of CCTV, ANPR, car park charging and a staffed cafe - three of the four starting in 10 days time will, I'm sure, make a startling difference - and I'm sure that's part of the plan.  Thanks for cleaning up!

From https://transwilts.org/2021/02/18/welcome-to-our-new-cafe-manager/

I hope the new Cafe is well received.

Graham, what sort of percentage of users would be those using the railway station would you guess?

I'm glad you added the word "guess"  :D

There is a surprising amount of other traffic up and down station approach, and other businesses there. Several are motor trade related and major on things like type changes - so there's quite often a number of people hanging around.  Historically - even prior to the service improvements in 2013 - it was common to find people wandering around the station area out of curiosity while waiting.  The tyre place does have a covered waiting room with a coffee machine in it, but out of that use during lockdowns.

TransWilts did a survey last autumn of traffic up and down station approach - mode of travel and whether the people were there for station or other work business.   Although I assisted, taking a number of shifts doing the survey, I have not received a even a summary of the results.   So my answer would be no more than "I guess that a significant percentage of users of The Hub cafe will NOT be using the railway Station"

Looking forward, The Hub will also be hiring out bicycles, and depending on how that is marketed, it may bring people by car to the hub area and I would think there would be a significant cafe business there took on pick up and drop off of cycles.   The car park is no longer "Rail Users Only" - it's now available to anyone, so there's very much a joined up plan here!

Is it 'just' a take-away place, or are there/will there be tables to sit and eat/drink?
If so, a toilet on site as well?

There's going to be some places to sit inside (whether tables or benches at the side or a mixture I'm not sure) and a loo which is wheelchair accessible.  If it opens while current restrictions are in place, it would be required to initially be take-away only, of course.

Much more space to sit outside on the piazza; as largely a good weather thing, I'm not sure on the timing on that.