As the popularity of both the café and the City Farm generally has grown over the past few years we have had more and more requests from customers to expand and improve our café facilities. In response, in 2015 we approached the Underwood Trust, who generously funded a feasibility study to explore what options would be possible for expanding our café. We appointed architects Childs & Sulzmann to study the architectural possibilities giving them a brief that focused on:
- more spaces for visitors – 40 indoor seats and extra covered seating outside
an improved kitchen – more efficient to work in and environmentally sound- an improved servery area
- a multi-use function room with a demonstration and training kitchen
We briefed that the ambiance of the café needed to retain its current appeal – family friendly, simple, farm-related and with lots of natural light.
You can download the results of the study below:
In 2016 we were successful securing funding from Power to Change, The John James Bristol Foundation, The Underwood Trust and the Ibstock Cory Environmental Fund to develop the idea. Building work is underway and that we anticipate the new café opening in summer 2017.