THE Clarke Foley Community Hub in Ilkley has re-opened their refurbished kitchen and café area.
The building work began back on Thursday, January 4 and finished late on Tuesday, February 6 before re-opening on February 7.
The work was carried out to a tight programme whilst the building remained operational, with the vast majority of classes, groups, and activities able to continue.
The final result is a kitchen which is now of a professional catering standard and optimises the use of the building’s floor space by amalgamating two kitchens into one. The new kitchen incorporates three zones to accommodate all the café food preparation, catering for the weekly lunch clubs and functions, and washing up area all in one ergonomic and user-friendly space. The area, which was once a prep kitchen, has now been opened up to create a cosy seating area at the heart of the café and has increased seating capacity by about 30 per cent.
The café itself has also had a makeover to become a much brighter, more attractive, modern, welcoming, and open space. There is also a new chiller display cabinet, the funds for which were kindly donated by Ilkley Wharfedale Rotary Club.
Business Manager Joe Short said: “We’re absolutely delighted with the end result. It has exceeded all expectations and will serve to benefit the building in so many ways moving forward. I’m very grateful to the contractor who has worked flexibly around our busy schedule and completed the work in such a timely manner and minimised our café closure as much as possible.
"Our thanks to Josh, Anton, Kirk, Ben, and all the team at Lodestone Projects and Ebor Catering Systems”.
Mr Short was also extended his thanks to Director of the Trustee, David Damant, and retired architect Allan Booth, who gave their time and expertise voluntarily over the last year to ensure the completion of this project to a very high standard.
“Finally, a huge thank you to all our customers, users, staff, and volunteers for their patience, support, and understanding whilst we completed the work," added Mr Short. "Hopefully the significant and necessary improvements we have made, make this a community facility they can be proud of, and one that can be enjoyed by the people of Ilkley for many years to come.”
This refurbishment is one of several positive and proactive steps the charity is taking this year to invest in and protect this vital community asset. The building’s exterior signage has been upgraded to better advertise the facilities available, there is a new Clarke Foley website set to launch which will improve search engine optimisation, and a new events programme for 2024 is due to be released with a range of events and activities for all ages and tastes. The Friends of Clarke Foley Scheme continues to gather momentum, with over £7,000 raised and over 240 members signed up so far.
Mr Short said: “The potential of this place is huge and not enough people are aware that it is open to all ages and is here to be used and enjoyed by the whole community. The more people that come in for a coffee in our community café, hire one of our rooms, or attend an event, the more secure our future will be and the longer we can continue combatting isolation and loneliness, and provide facilities in the interest of social, physical, and mental wellbeing. I would welcome everyone to come see our new café area and find out what this place is all about.
“There is a lot more work to be done and a lot more support required to balance the books and make this place sustainable in the long-term, but some significant progress has been made over the past few months, things are moving in the right direction, and we are developing a strategy that targets all the areas where our strengths can be built on, our weaknesses can be reduced, our opportunities can be maximised, and our threats can be minimised. We are fortunate to have a committed team of staff and volunteers who are passionate about keeping this place going, but it is clear we are also going to require the support of our community to survive.
"If you value, enjoy, or believe in what this place has to offer, then please consider becoming a friend, making a donation, or leaving a gift in your will to protect its future and enable it to go on benefitting the community.”
Details of how to make a donation or become a Friend can be found at www.clarkefoley.org.uk , by calling 07442 261462, or by emailing manager@clarkefoley.org.uk
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