New community café to open in Millbrook

Located in the Colne Avenue Baptist Church, the café will initially be open Mondays and Fridays from 9am – 4pm. As well as offering a delicious range of drinks and treats, the space will serve as a hub where the community can access the services and activities that are important to them.

The Millbrook community are at the heart of the café’s purpose. Early plans include a community library and activities for the older generation with Communicare. But that’s not all, over the coming months, the café will involve its customers in shaping exactly what this looks like. The team have some really exciting things planned, but they want customers at the forefront, telling them what they’d like to see. Opening times and days may also be adapted based on the community’s needs once the café is up and running.

Lucy Davis, Community Development Officer at Abri, said: “With the cost of living on the rise, we hope Millbrook residents will welcome the convenience Café Revive brings. A lack of nearby facilities means that trips to access services can become costly and time consuming, often leaving the community unable to access the support they require. Café Revive will offer a hub for people to gather and provide wellbeing support, without a specified or paid for activity taking place, or the need to travel.”

This joint venture between Abri, one of the south of England’s largest housing providers, and Colne Avenue Baptist Church, was awarded £22,000 from Abri’s Partnership Funding to support the project. The new café is part of Abri’s £15m five-year community investment to create thriving communities and empower lives.

Pastor Chris Davis MBE, from Colne Avenue Baptist Church, said: “We’re really pleased to be able to get the café up and running. Engagement within Millbrook can be difficult, which is why we’ve worked with Abri to create somewhere for the community to go, to socialise, to create a sense of community cohesion, and engage with the support they may need. The church wants to become a centre of community for the estate, a place where trust and friendships can flourish.”

Café Revive is the latest in a of series of community projects Abri has been working on with Colne Avenue Baptist over the last four years. It follows the popular Good Grub Club, which helps tackle food inequality and social isolation by bringing families together during half term to get involved in cooking some tasty 'good grub' and taking part in fun activities.

If you would like to find out more about the café, please contact Lucy Davis, Community Development Officer for Abri at lucy.davis@abri.co.uk or 07779 565929.