Study to look at extending park cafe
A popular park cafe running out of cooking space could be extended, after town councillors agreed to fund a feasibility study.
The operators of Wellington’s Bowring Cafe want to move all seating space outside the existing building and into a new temporary structure, members heard.
Wellington Town Council owns the building, and Policy and Resources Committee chairman Stephen DeLauney said an extension might make the site more suitable to prospective future tenants.
Members agreed to provide up to £1,120 to explore the option.
Committee member Lee Carter said the current occupants were running it successfully and he hoped that would continue, but “there will come a day when we have to lease it to someone else”, so it was a good idea to “future-proof” the building.
David Cheshire’s and Donna Miles took over the cafe’s lease in 2018 and last year this was renewed for a further five years.
Cllr DeLauney said: “The Bowring Cafe has been far more successful with the current tenants in it that we thought it would be. It has got to the stage where it’s not big enough.
“The tenants came to the council with a proposal that they want to effectively turn the entire current space of the Bowring Cafe into a kitchen and preparation area. Their reason for wanting that was that they need more space and they haven’t got all the space to cook all the food they are now serving, which is a lovely condition to be in.
“But, what happens when, maybe, another tenant comes along? Are we going to then be trying to lease a kitchen in the middle of the park to somebody?”
He said he asked town council staff to write to Telford and Wrekin Council, who own the Bowring Park, about the possibility of an extension.
Cllr DeLauney said: “They said: ‘Give us £1,120 and we will go and do a potential survey of what you could do with the building’.
“So at this stage, rather than agree it should be converted into a kitchen and preparation area, I’m suggesting we look at investing that amount in a survey.”
Lee Carter said it was worth investigating “future-proofing” the building, and added that the quoted price was a maximum and he hoped it could be reduced.
“Their current proposal is to have a temporary building,” Cllr DeLauney said. “I just think, surely, if we consider having temporary buildings was might as well look at the possibility of just extending.”
The committee approved the proposal.
