New ‘repair cafes’ could open up in Fenland and Huntingdonshire to help prevent wastefulness, thanks to an innovative new partnership. 

These repair cafes are community events where people who need something fixed can meet people who like fixing things.  

They’ll help divert waste from landfills, teach new skills to residents and bring people together to reduce loneliness. 

A report commissioned in March of this year by the Cambridgeshire County Council looked into how the council could help roll out these cafes showed that repair cafes are prominent in the Cambridge area but less so in the north of the county. 

In step with these findings, CCC proposed to partner with an experienced carbon reduction charity, Cambridge Carbon Footprint, that already delivers work around the Cambridgeshire repair network. 

The partnership will support the volunteer-run cafes rolling out in areas where residents do not have opportunities to access them. 

It will also include “thousands of pounds” of funding from the council going towards launching a café in Huntingdon and another in Fenland.

These will employ a part-time repair cafe outreach officer and look to finding two local businesses to partner with, and create a repair hub in area where it will effectively support the two cafes. 

The council’s communities, social mobility and inclusion committee decided to approve the partnership at its meeting on December 8. 

Chair of the committee Cllr Tom Sanderson said: “Repair cafes are a great way of saving money and supporting the environment. 

“This in turn will help support our goal of making Cambridgeshire carbon net zero by 2030 as repair cafes have been shown to decrease the amount of items sent to landfill.” 

Cllr Ros Hathorn, who proposed the motion which was passed by the council, said: "I'm thrilled to see the council actively supporting the repair cafes movement. 

“Today's vote means that there will be more repair cafes across the county, more items can get repaired and we can all think more carefully about our relationship with stuff." 

To find a repair cafe near you, or to find out how you can set up your own one, visit: https://cambridgecarbonfootprint.org/repair-cafes/.