Museum volunteers to present at Association for Industrial Archaeology
We're pleased to share that we've now opened a tender for the café at the Museum, and we'd like to set out clearly what we're looking for.
The café will be a daytime, family-friendly space - welcoming to visitors, families, dog-walkers, neighbours and everyone who enjoys this corner of the riverside. It will serve barista coffee, fresh bakery and light lunches, and it will be alcohol-free. That character matters to us, and it's written into the tender itself.
The café will be run by an independent operator, not by the Museum. The tender is open, and we welcome proposals from established operators and new entrants alike, including local businesses. Every bid will be assessed against the same criteria.
As a charity caring for a Victorian pumping station and a nationally important Scheduled Monument, everything we earn from the café goes back into keeping this site open, cared for and maintained for use by everyone. We're looking for an operator who wants to work with us to make this site thrive.
Operators interested in finding out more, or making a declaration of interest, can contact Nick Plaister at nick.plaister@museumoftechnology.com.
Come along and burn off some steam this summer. Get hands on with history, learn about our industrial past, and have some fun in the process!
We know many of you have questions about the ongoing improvements at the Museum. We've pulled together the questions we've heard most often, with our answers, in the hope this gives you the clarity you're looking for. We're grateful for how much people care about this place - it's exactly why we want to be as open as we can about its future.
What is the museum planning to do with its site?
Bring the whole site together around a primary aim - welcoming more people - so the museum can fund its mission of preserving the site and collection.
The museum is an independent, volunteer-run charity that owns a 130-year-old former pumping station — a Scheduled Monument — on the River Cam. It is aligning its whole site around a primary aim: welcoming more people. In practice that means a smoother-running, better-cared-for site, with the museum and the independent businesses on it working in step - offering visitors a relaxed riverside place by day and a different experience in the evening - so more people visit, the museum becomes more financially resilient, and it can better preserve the buildings and collection for the community and deliver its education programmes.
How do the commercial parts of the site work in the daytime and the evening?
Day and evening have deliberately different offers, so the small businesses on site complement rather than compete with each other.
The site is run so that its traders complement one another rather than compete. The daytime and the evening are intended to have distinct characters and offers: a relaxed, family-friendly riverside place by day, and a different evening experience. This separation is deliberate - if businesses on site simply duplicated each other, for example by competing on the same food at the same times, it would reduce what each can earn and make them less viable. Coordinating this so that every small business can thrive in a truly collaborative environment is one of the museum’s real management responsibilities.
Is this just about making money?
No - the museum has deliberately built around small local independents because it’s better for the community.
The museum has deliberately chosen to work with independent local or independent businesses because they contribute to a truer character of the site, support the local economy and are better for the community.
Is the museum becoming less of a museum, or more of a commercial venue?
No - preservation, education and engagement remain the long-term objectives
The hospitality, events and busier destination are a means by which the charity funds those purposes, not a replacement for them. Every visitor and event helps secure the long-term future of a nationally important heritage asset. Also increased footfall should help the museum secure more visitors and support the expansion of the education programme.
Why is this needed? Why not leave things as they are?
The historic buildings are costly to maintain and a small charity can’t fund that from admissions alone.
The museum’s buildings are historic, protected and costly to maintain, and some will need major repair in the years ahead. Welcoming more people — through the grounds, hospitality and events - is how the charity earns the income to keep the buildings maintained, collection preserved and the museum open.
What will local people and the community get from this?
A better-cared-for riverside site, a focus space for community events, and one-off events on the local calendar – as well as a connection to the area’s heritage.
A historic riverside site that is better cared for and more alive: green space by the river, somewhere to eat and drink, a focus space for community events, and a programme of events that add something new to the local calendar – while driving people to a major monument and part of Cambridge’s industrial history.
How is this funded? Will it pay for itself?
Earned income is central, but realising the vision fully will need continued investment.
The museum has already delivered major investment in its site, including redevelopment supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England and others, and has since secured further heritage funding. Increasing earned income is central to the plan.
Who makes the decisions about the museum’s future?
The museum’s volunteer Board of Trustees, who hold the duty of keeping a fragile historic site standing.
Responsibility rests with the museum’s volunteer Board of Trustees, who carry the duty of keeping a fragile, historic site standing and of acting in the long-term interest of the museum and the site, while delivering engagement activities focused around the collection and education. All significant commercial decisions are considered by the Board of Trustees against the museum's charitable objectives and long-term conservation needs.
Can a volunteer charity really manage all this?
It’s a genuine challenge, but the museum has a track record of delivering investment and growth and is committed to adapting as it goes.
The museum has a track record of delivering major investment and of growing its visitors, events and community programmes in recent years, and is committed to learning and improving as the work goes on. The trustees will not compromise the mission of protecting the site and collection for future generations in a way that helps the community retain a sense of their local heritage and connection with the past.
When we shared that Kerb Kollective's current agreement at the Lower Yard would come to the end of its term, we knew how much this news would matter to you. The strength of your response has shown us just how much both Kerb Kollective and this Museum mean to our community. The way forward has been the outcome of careful, collective deliberation by the Trustees over many factors. We've read and reflected on what you've shared, and we'd like to explain more fully, honestly, and with respect for everyone involved.
The Cambridge Museum of Technology is a charity. We are run almost entirely by volunteers and Trustees who give their time freely because they love this place and its history. Every hour the Museum is open, every school visit and community event, is made possible by people who are not paid to be here. We are custodians of an important part of Cambridge's heritage, and, like many small museums, we carry that responsibility with very limited resources.
Keeping a place like this going is harder than it looks from the outside. Our buildings are ageing, and some will need significant repair, and likely temporary closure, in the years ahead. We are a small team, and it takes careful planning, and constant fundraising, to sustain the roles that hold everything together, from opening our doors to running school visits and community events. We rely on partners to help share the cost of maintaining our estate, and managing that work falls largely to volunteers and Trustees giving their own time. These are the realities behind every decision we make, and they are familiar to the small, independent museums that make Cambridge what it is.
None of this has dampened our commitment to the site. Over recent years we have invested significantly in the Lower Yard and the wider Museum, securing grants to fund the permanent improvements that have made the space what it is today and laying the groundwork for its future. We did this because we believe deeply in this place and in what it can be for the whole community, not for any short-term return. That long-term investment is precisely why we are determined to bring our spaces together and secure the Museum's future, however difficult the decisions along the way.
It is within that context that we have been working towards a long-held aspiration: to bring the Engineer's House and the Lower Yard together into a more welcoming, connected hospitality and social space for the whole community, with the hope of opening it up across more of the year. Bringing the spaces together into a single destination is how we hope to protect the Museum's future.
We also want to be clear that this was not a decision we reached quickly or lightly. Over many months we negotiated in good faith to find a way forward together. In the end, we could not agree the terms of how the integrated space would operate. That is a genuine and respectful difference of view about the future, and we truly regret that it has come to this.
We hold Kerb Kollective in the highest regard. Their talent and outlook are exceptional, and they have brought real warmth to the Lower Yard. We wish them every success, and we're glad to hear they will continue to serve the community they have built. We very much hope they'll keep trading with us until their current agreement ends on 31 August 2026; that final decision rests with them. As we prepare to tender for the next chapter at the Lower Yard, we would encourage Kerb Kollective to take part, alongside any operator who shares our vision for the site.
We were also moved that, in their own message, Kerb Kollective asked people to be kind to our volunteers and recognised that this decision was never theirs to make. We're grateful for that generosity. It reflects exactly the spirit in which we have valued working alongside them, and it is the spirit in which we hope this whole conversation can continue.
A few points have understandably caused some confusion, and we'd like to set them out plainly below.
To everyone who has shared their views: thank you. It means a great deal that you care so much. As we look to the next chapter at the Lower Yard, we are committed to a fair and open process, and we'll share news as soon as we can. Our commitment is unchanged: to protect this remarkable place and keep it open, alive and welcoming for the whole community, for years to come.
With warm regards,
Vincent Mak Chair of the Board of Trustees, Cambridge Museum of Technology (on behalf of the Trustees)
Questions and answers
When will Kerb Kollective stop trading at the Lower Yard?
Their current agreement runs until 31 August 2026, and we very much hope they'll continue with us until then. The final decision about their last day of trading is theirs to make, under the terms of that agreement.
Why is Kerb Kollective's agreement coming to an end?
Kerb Kollective's current agreement is reaching the end of its term. Rather than simply continue the existing arrangement, we have a long-held aim to bring the Engineer's House and the Lower Yard together into a more connected hospitality and community space, which we hope to open up to more people across more of the year. That means preparing new terms for the shared space, which we will put out to tender. The difference of view during our discussions was about how that integrated space would operate, not about Kerb Kollective's work or their popularity, both of which we value enormously. Our hope throughout has been for them to remain part of the space, and that remains true.
Who paid for the improvements to the Lower Yard?
The Museum funded the permanent infrastructure such as the decking, the connecting sitting steps, the toilet refurbishment and the metal fencing, as part of our long-term vision for a vibrant community space. We also secured grants to fund the chair lift. Kerb Kollective provided the moveable items, such as tables, chairs, parasols and plant pots.
Did Kerb Kollective have exclusive use of the Lower Yard?
No. Kerb Kollective have priority use, but not exclusive use. Under the current contractual arrangement, Engineer's House visitors are able to use the Lower Yard if space is available, and Kerb Kollective's customers are able to use the Engineer's House grounds and indoor spaces in poor weather.
What happens next?
As the current agreement comes to an end, we will run an open and fair tender for the next hospitality offer at the Lower Yard, which any local supplier - including Kerb Kollective - is welcome to enter. We will share news as soon as we are able. In the meantime, we hope to welcome Kerb Kollective's customers, and everyone else, to the Lower Yard throughout the summer.
What is the future vision for the site?
At the moment, our vision is that the Engineer's House and the future coffee vendor will share seating and a community space, but will be separate partners with separate facilities.
Can Kerb Kollective tender for the new contract?
Yes, and we would warmly encourage them to. Anyone can apply, and all serious offers will be considered on their merits.
Do any trustees have a personal interest in the choice of catering supplier?
No. Trustees declare any conflicts of interest at every board meeting, and any trustee with an interest takes no part in the relevant decision.
Who makes decisions like this, and why should we trust them?
The Museum is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees who receive no payment and have no financial interest in the outcome. We are accountable as a registered charity, and decisions of this kind are made collectively. Our purpose is the heritage, education and community that this Museum exists to protect: caring for an important part of Cambridge's history, opening it up to schools and visitors, and keeping it a living place for the neighbourhood. Hospitality on the site matters to us because it supports that wider purpose and brings people together; it is one valued part of a much bigger picture. Every decision we make is weighed against the long-term survival of the Museum and its service to the community. This decision was not taken lightly, and we understand the upset it has caused. It was made carefully, in what we believe to be the Museum's best interests for the years ahead.
Why can't you share more detail about what happened?
We understand the wish to know more. Out of respect for Kerb Kollective and for the proper, confidential conduct of a commercial relationship, we don't think it would be right to discuss the details of private discussions or contract terms in public. We've tried to be as open as we can about our reasons and our hopes for the site, and we'd ask for understanding on the rest. We'd also gently ask people to be cautious about accounts shared anonymously or second-hand: we are not able to respond to them in detail, precisely because we hold ourselves to that same discretion.
Does the City Council own the Pumping Station and Lower Yard?
No. The Pumping Station and Lower Yard is owned by the Cambridge Museum of Technology, which is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
For more information about the long term vision of the site please read our FAQ on site improvements.