Timeline - Melksham Hub station cafe - for 2021

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Occasional sunny spells greeted the official opening of the Melksham Hub Cafe this morning with the rain holding off.

Chippenham MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context) Michelle Donelan cut the ribbon to mark the occasion assisted by Richard Gamble, chairman of Wiltshire Council.



Interior of the cafe now has its own departure board (although it needs fitting to wall properly)



Police were there to offer free bike marking while for the children the chance to meet some lambs being hand reared

[grahame]

Occasional sunny spells greeted the official opening of the Melksham Hub Cafe this morning with the rain holding off.

Thanks for that post, Bob ... good to see you for the first time in goodness-knows-how-long in person.   Far better pics than mine - some posted at http://grahamellis.uk/blog121.html which includes picture from the cafe in the park which also opened today.  Not competing with each other - reminded me of "A Tale of Two Cafes" which I recall was a book by Charles Dickens, and London Buses where there's nothing for half an hour then two come along together!

[JayMac]

Sad news. The Melksham Hub cafe is to close in May 2023.

From Facebook:

It is with great sadness that we announce our lovely little community cafe will be closing at the end of May 2023.
 
The decision to close was not easy but with the increased cafe expenses, reduction in local funding and footfall at Melksham station we cannot find a way to keep the cafe open.
 
As a not-for-profit company our sole purpose was to provide a safe space for rail passengers whilst supporting and empowering members of our community from marginalised backgrounds. Thanks to the support from our amazing staff, our cafe volunteers have learnt they can make a valuable contribution to organisations and play a vital role in society.
 
For the time-being we will continue to stay open, albeit with reduced hours. These will be advertised in the next few days. Our Glee Club will also remain open every Wednesday 12.30-2.30pm until such time that we close our doors completely.
 
Thank you to our customers for your support. We hope that in a short period of time we have made a positive contribution to our community.

[TaplowGreen]

That is a shame indeed. Always sad to see a business fail.

[grahame]

Sad news. The Melksham Hub cafe is to close in May 2023.

Sad news, indeed.  I have shared that sadness on local Facebook group pages, and also added an updated page on the appropriate website to make it clear that the Cafe may be closing, but the station and rail service remains very much in business - http://www.mtug.org.uk/summer2023.html .

I do not as yet have any indication as to what the future plans, if any, are for the cafe building - whether there's another use lined up for it, or whether ideas are or will be sought, and if so by whom.  Neither do I have any indication whether or not there will be changes to car parking and charging facilities on the site.

Opening a cafe and a greatly enhanced, now paid, car park couldn't really have come at a worse time with the onset of Covid, and I would like to add my thanks to everyone who put in so much effort into trying to make it work.   The financial objective, as I understand it, was to break even or make a modest profit which was to be used to help oil the wheels of further service and facility development.  What was undoubtedly achieved was a community which empowering members of our community from marginalised backgrounds, and I would very much hope that achievement can be rehomed to somewhere like Canberra, on Spa Road, perhaps.