Pete Hope, director of GO4's struggling Market Café says he's 'banging his head against a wall' as he battles with Colchester Council over premises

These were the ‘three pillars’ on which Pete Hope originally launched a project named, Out4Good, before moving on to form GO4.

The social enterprise began in 2010 after director Mr Hope realised successful reform for ex-offenders would ultimately only be achieved with a job.

Since then it has created training, work and voluntary opportunities for about 30 young adults aged 18 to 25.

Their skills have flourished at the GO4 Market Café, inside Holy Trinity Church, on Trinity Street.

It was by default, Mr Hope explained, he and friend Dave Watson, who is now an unpaid shareholder, ended up with the café after founding the not-for-profit with just £100.

But, they saw the potential of what they could achieve with what the government terms a ‘NEET’ – a young person not in education, employment or training.

He said: “Everybody makes mistakes and these individuals haven’t got a family to support or advise them.

“We give them more than a barista experience, we mentor and up-skill them, which gives them confidence for the workplace.”

One of those, Mr Hope described as a “walking crime wave”, who the organisation has worked with for seven years.

Now, he is earmarked to be a future manager.

And one youngster, who was referred to GO4 straight from prison, is a Michelin star head chef at a gastro pub.

The impact of the revolving-door model of support – allowing those who reoffend to return - was so great; he volunteers at the café during his free time.

Mr Hope added: “We don’t do anything miraculous, we just make opportunities available and they grasp it.

“I suppose we facilitate something in them that they recognise needs to change, but the important thing is we don’t judge.

“They’re not a threat to the community and we see the potential and value in them.”

However, with outgoings exceeding incomings and the lease on the premises set to expire in 2018, GO4 could be forced to contract its services prematurely.

Holy Trinity Church is currently owned by Colchester Council.

After two meetings earlier this year to assess its plans for Colchester’s oldest Grade I listed building, and a failed third, Mr Hope said he is banging his head against a wall.

“It’s been difficult to get any sense out of them," he added.

He said: “The building is the biggest attraction but also the biggest liability.

“One of the issues we have is it’s stigmatised because of being a church and also the lack of promotion from the council.

“We’re very restricted in what signage we can put up and when the building isn’t open for the café, it must look like a church.

“We’re having to second guess what’s happening, which is difficult because we’ve put a lot of energy into making the café a success.

“I think we’ve done remarkably well given the fact we’re not well funded, but feel isolated from any kind of support.”

Inefficient heating and poor lighting continue to dampen business activity, while it is alleged the council has no funds to pay the estimated £8,000 for a feasibility study.

The study will help establish how the building could be better adapted, but without it the Market Café faces two difficult winters ahead.

Before its doors even open, the annual bills amount to £20,000, outside of staffing and food costs.

On average, the organisation has received £24,000 from Colchester Council over the past six years, to which it pays £10,000 a year in fees.

During spring/summer, Mr Hope relies on income from coffee and cakes, as well as the market, to cover salaries and daily running costs.

He said: “Heritage Lottery funding could be accessed for the kind of work we want done inside, which is to construct a mezzanine floor and to change the heating and lighting.

“But we haven’t got the necessary administration capacity to apply for such a sizeable bid. I’m pro-bono, as are the rest of the directors, but also with only a short lease, it’s not necessarily worth our while.

“We try to build the surplus up from the warmer months to get through the winter, but ideally we want to operate independently without grants, which is difficult with the building in its current state.”

Should the Market Café have to relocate, the new premises would need to be identified by early 2018.

It can take more than a year to complete the process of funding applications; meaning time is short.

He added: “It’s frustrating for us because the council’s attitude towards the building and our occupancy has been quite ambiguous and we really just want them to be more transparent.

“Just last week we had visitors from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and the Netherlands – so to think it’s not a tourist attraction is wrong.

“If the council say there’s no future for us and we can’t get a feasibility study, we’d naturally have to limit our services until we find somewhere new.

“But we’d want it to be in our control and not out of circumstances.”

UPDATE:

A Colchester Council spokesperson said: “Colchester Council has been delighted to work with GO4 Enterprises in recent years to bring this important and historic building back into active use for an excellent community purpose.

"However, there will always be limitations on what can be achieved in a landmark Grade 1 listed building.

"We look forward to exploring options within these understandable constraints with the organisation in the near future.”

For more information, visit www.go4enterprises.org.