Local, National and International Tonbridge Castle
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Wednesday July 12 | 2017
Concerns over community café INSIDE that has never opened its doors TIME FOR CHEER
Hillview girls do Tonbridge proud at national level Page 70
Exclusive by Murray Jones
murray@timesoftonbridge.co.uk FIVE years ago construction on a new town centre community café was finally finished to much fanfare. But it has never been used and today still stands empty. Now, there are demands, from a borough councillor and the Civic Society, for answers from the owners of the so-called Gateway Café building adjacent to the River Centre.
Frustrated Cllr Russell Lancaster, who represents Medway ward, said he is becoming ‘increasingly frustrated at the continued emptiness’ of the riverside location and the ‘opaque’ commercial ownership of the site. He has also raised questions about the intentions of the current owner Servants Fellowship International [SFI] who are the Surrey-based financial arm of the Christian charity Barnabas Aid International. It is understood that a number of
local organisations have approached the owners, who are part of a complex network of Christian organisations, about a tenancy but have been deterred by what they consider to be unfeasible rates. In August last year, SFI sold the main River Centre building to Hillsong, a Pentecostal Australian megachurch, for a figure believed to be in excess of £3million. Meanwhile Michael Whiteley, the developer who transformed the former Lloyds Bank on Medway Wharf Road into a 64-apartment block, has bought the car park next to the community café for a fee believed to be for around £1million. He is the director of 17 development companies. In April, Mr Whiteley managed to renew planning permission to develop 73 residential apartments on the site. Cllr Lancaster is concerned that the Gateway Café, which is still owned by SFI, could go the same way with apartments being built on the land. “The worry is that there is no obvious interest for a community
EMPTY Cllr Lancaster outside the dormant café
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centre. We’ve got the beautiful Town Lock area which the council have put a lot of time and effort into regenerating and yet an empty community café nearby. “Essentially you’ve got a group of property
trustees with no interest in the town. We should demand answers. “Christian charities have made money
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Meanwhile another café faces closure…
LACKING: Volunteers needed
While there is dismay at the lack of a community café at the River Centre, there’s also concern over the news that another nearby café looks set to shut its doors this weekend. The LifeSprings café, which is in the Christ Church in the High Street, is struggling to get enough volunteers to support the young adults with learning
disabilities who run the service. It offers affordable food and drink from 10am to 1pm, Monday to Saturday. Those who run the café need people with a passion to set up clubs of various kinds to keep the place active and thriving. There are also opportunities for other charities or local groups to raise funds and awareness for their organisation in the café
on Saturdays. People who have a couple of hours to spare to lend a listening ear to others are also being encouraged to join. The team need at least ten volunteers, two a day, to continue offering their service to the community. To find out more, email Sharon on secretary@ christchurchtonbridge.com or call 01732 770334.
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