A project to build a new community café in Helston has come to a halt following several concerns.

Plans to build a new community cafe in Helston, as part of what is known as the King George V and Coronation Gardens Project, have stalled due to concerns about access, parking, and funding.

At Helston Town Council’s latest full meeting on Thursday, interim projects officer Richard James shared concerns raised with members of the council.  

He said: “As the project progresses, there are a few things that I am quite worried about. One of the main points is access.

“The café’s proposed location would make it difficult for bin collection, access and deliveries.”

You can read more about the initial business plan for the cafe here: Helston's new community cafe: menu ideas, prices and projected profit revealed

The project's officer pointed out that with no spaces nearby for parking, there are reservations about people parking in nearby residential estates such as Oliver’s Terrace and Trelawney Road, saying that those areas are not designed for ‘that sort of traffic’.

People have also shared their concerns on social media about the issue with parking for the proposed café, with some suggesting that with the lack of dedicated parking, cars will be going back into the nearby housing estates.

As well as this, Richard also highlighted his concerns about the purposes of hiring the café for other community projects and groups. He said: “It has been intended that the café will be able to be hired.

“But, because it hasn’t got a very big footprint, the concern is that you’re going to limit what you’re going to be able to hire out.”

He also commented on the ‘high concept’ initial drawings, suggesting it may be asking too much of the site, and said that there needs to be more thought give over the sustainability of the building.

Former Helston Town Council project officer, Charlotte Caldwell who led the project before she left earlier this year, said when the project was announced in October 2022 that grants and fundraising were planned to cover the cost of the project.

However, Richard revealed that funding for the project has not been successful.

He said: “We have recently been advised by Ella Rodwell from the CLUP (Community Levelling Up Programme) team to pause further work on the project in relation to the funding application.

“It has not been successful on two matters. The first was that the panel didn’t feel we would be able to deliver it within the time frame that we had.

“The second was that what we were proposing didn’t have good viability.”

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In March a group of students from the University of Exeter Business School, based at the Tremough Campus in Penryn shared their business plan for the café with members of Helston Town Council at a special meeting.

The students explained at the time that the total projected revenue for the café would be around £218,000 a year, based on an average spend of £4 per person (the figure indicated in the survey as what most people would be likely to spend on a visit.)  

This would have require 152 customers per day, which they calculated to be 9.87% of the population of Helston (a figure later questioned by residents). They estimated an additional £6,200 in revenue from room hire, events and merchandise.

With operating expenses of £18,040, plus a speculative salary of £40,000 for the paid manager and £15,000 for the part time assistant manager (with both salaries still to be confirmed), this, they said, would leave a gross profit of £84,290 and an annual net profit of £11,251.

Despite the café plans coming to a pause, Richard has also shared an update on the redevelopment plans for the Scout Hut.

In January planning permission was granted for the work, including demolishing the existing scout hut building and replacing it with a new scout hut and community hall as part of a wider project.

He said that it remains a ‘Scout Hut Project’ and explained that a funding application is soon to be submitted.

The scout hut project will be discussed in more detail by councillors at a meeting on Monday, June 10.