Age Concern in Maidenhead to provide new Town Hall community café

A new community café is set to open in Maidenhead Town Hall in June, run by local charity Age Concern Slough and Berkshire East.

The café will be run as an independent venture by Age Concern which will lease the ground floor space from the Council under a five-year agreement after Bridge That Gap is reprovided at the new Boyn Grove Community Resource Centre.

Staffed by older people and volunteers and working closely with the council's Ways into Work scheme, the café will also offer training and work experience for adults with learning difficulties.

Cllr Simon Dudley, Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, said he was pleased that the supportive and enabling environment created by Bridge That Gap would be continued by the new café operators.

He said: "As Bridge That Gap moves to its new home, I am delighted that Age Concern has come forward with a commercial café proposal that will retain a popular service in the town centre.

"In the spirit of the Big Society it will offer excellent opportunities for volunteers and I am particularly pleased that the new café will provide work experience for people with a learning difficulty - a service that is much valued at Bridge That Gap and which will continue to be developed through the new café operators in conjunction with the successful Ways into Work scheme.

"This is good news for our residents, for our local Age Concern and for people with a learning difficulty who will continue to benefit from training and work experience in the heart of the town."

Tracey Morgan, Chief Executive of Age Concern Slough and Berkshire East, said: "I am pleased that we have been given the opportunity to work in partnership with the Royal Borough and to take on this fantastic facility.

"I am really excited about this project and I am looking forward to building on the great work that has already taken place. We will be keen to develop opportunities for older workers, as well as those will learning difficulties. At the same time, we plan to expand on the offerings that are available.

"We will have really great coffee and will be opening for breakfast from 8am. The emphasis will be on freshly-prepared healthy options so that we can offer anything from a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich to fruit juices and muesli. There will also be a more comprehensive lunch menu that will draw people in.

"During these unprecedented difficult economic times, it is more important than ever that we work in partnership and look at innovative ways to raise our own funds for the benefit of local older people. Simply by using this new community café, local people will not only be able to buy good quality refreshments but, importantly, they will be helping their local, independent charity to help local older people. This is Big Society in action and a really positive demonstration of how we can help ourselves and each other."

The new café in the Town Hall will operate totally independently and will not be subsidised by the Council. As its first priority, Ways into Work will be ensuring a smooth transition of Bridge That Gap to its new home and then will be working with the new café to set up training and work experience opportunities for the Boyn Grove centre users.

Founded in 1979, Age Concern Slough and Berkshire East is an independent registered charity, supported by the time, efforts and contributions of local people and organisations. It aims to enhance the quality of life of older people and to help make later life a rewarding and enjoyable time. It already operates a community café in Slough, as well as five lunch clubs, day care and more than 50 other services for older people and carers. In the Royal Borough is has a branch, Age Concern in Maidenhead, four charity shops, a lunch club and a range of other services.

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