The flagship Crazy Cow café/restaurant at an £850,000 new pavilion in Wisbech Park that opened this year is to close after just seven months with bad weather and “friction” with the landlords blamed.
“It is with a huge sadness that we have to announce we are vacating the pavilion park building on November 3rd,” says a post on the crazy Cow Facebook page.
“The weather has not been on our side, and the park is not as busy as we had hoped.
“Unfortunately, the pavilion building wasn’t built to cope with the cooking of hot food, and this didn’t become clear until we took it on.”
Best way to finish the week as Mayor – in Wisbech, a lovely team provide weekly
@ramblersUK
mindful wellbeing walk ,alongside @ActiveFenland –
wonderfully warm welcome , real camaraderie , working together and building fantastic community spiritFinishing at pavilion cafe pic.twitter.com/7IwNTARwQd
— Mayor Dr Nik Johnson (@NikJohnsonCA) July 26, 2024
The owners add: “There were several issues that were out of our control and as much as we tried to rectify them, it caused friction with the landlords.
“We hope the next people in the café have aligned visions with the council to make it a success.”
Wisbech Town Council was approved to manage the £850,000 community pavilion and as part of the agreement was given permission to sub-let the café.
The town council said that following “a rigorous bidding process”, Crazy Cow Catering Ltd was granted a licence to operate the café element of Wisbech Park Pavilion.
The café opened to the public on Tuesday 26 March.
In their bid to Wisbech Town Council for a licence to operate the café, Gemma, Joey, Summer, and Danny of Crazy Cow Catering Ltd said: “We want to make the café the hub of the community and help make the park a better place within the community.”
Fenland District Council says it “primarily funded” the project but with grants from Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and the Government’s Changing Places initiative.
Almost £300,000 of the cost came from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
As well as the money from the Combined Authority’s Market Towns Programme, the project also received funding from Cambridgeshire County Council’s Communities Capital Fund, the Government’s Changing Places initiative, and Fenland District Council.
The provides space for community meetings, workshops and or small-scale performances, the café/ restaurant.
Changing Place toilets have also been installed after Government funding was awarded to Fenland Council.
These are larger accessible toilets for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities or with physical disabilities such as spinal injuries, muscular dystrophy, and multiple sclerosis.
Gemma Hammond is from the four-strong family team that were granted the licence from Wisbech Town Council to operate the café.
“We worked in restaurants and pubs before and came together with a dream of having our own food business,” she said prior to opening.
“We didn’t have a lot of money and found it difficult to set up
The family run café added in their recent post: “We will move onwards and upwards like we have from day 1.
“We started from nothing as a small family team and it’s time to follow our hearts and be who we want to be. Our next venture is already in the planning, and we can’t wait to show you all what is in our crazy heads.”
They added their thanks “to all the wonderful people we’ve met along these 7 months, some of you have even become friends.
“We will miss this place, and we will definitely miss the dogs that run to us for treats”.
They explained they had announced the closure early “before rumours spread as to the reason why, remember we are human, and this is our livelihood.
“We would never have wanted this to happen, and we are touched by the comments we have had so far, including a petition”.
They added; “Keep supporting us until the last day we have some very generous discounts in store, and we will still be on Just Eat.”
Wisbech town council has a 35-year lease agreed after the Cabinet of Fenland Council was told they were well placed to run it “and to strengthen what the town council can offer the community”.
Cabinet agreed a report from officers which said that “management by the town council is the best option as it will provide a locally focussed approach, ensuring community needs are catered for.
“Other options have not been considered, as local council management offers a community focus that another partner is unlikely to offer,” said the report.
The report said that as community facility a lease at a peppercorn rate of £1 p.a. “is the usual approach. As this is below the market rate, Cabinet is required to confirm that this arrangement is acceptable”.
Cabinet heard that although the lease is below market rate, it is “typical of agreements for this type of community facility”.
Cabinet heard that whilst Wisbech Town Council had agreed to manage the facility on a peppercorn lease basis, FDC did have the option to engage more widely and see if a third-party, commercial business would be interested in the opportunity to manage the pavilion.
Deputy Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Cllr Anna Smith, attended the opening of the pavilion and thanked everyone involved when she joined town and district council partners for the opening of a state-of-the-art community Pavilion in historic Wisbech park.
Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson said of the pavilion he was confident it will “widen the park’s appeal, attract more events, and encourage new visitors of all ages and abilities.
“It also shows the power of our partnerships, with £299k from the Combined Authority helping FDC secure other funding, bringing this welcome boost to Wisbech, demonstrating yet again the CPCA’s commitment to invest in the communities of Fenland.”
Cllr Peter Murphy, Fenland District Council’s portfolio holder for parks and open spaces, said: “Wisbech Park has long been a jewel in the town’s crown, and the commitment of local district council members to enhancing it further has significantly increased the number of visitors.
“The new community pavilion is a testament to this dedication and will serve as a focal point for community engagement and social activities for years to come.”
Officially unveiling a plaque on the building, Fenland District Council chairman, Cllr Nick Meekins, said: “I’m a lifelong Wisbech resident so this park has always been part of my life. It’s a fantastic park and now we’ve got this pavilion it gets even better.”
The pavilion building consists internally of a community room (for hire), an office (for hire) and a café.
