A NEW café aimed at parents and pre-school aged children is set to open in Evesham.

The Secret Garden Play Café, on Davies Road, is owned by Emily Carrick and her mother, Tracy Churchill. 

Miss Carrick has been dreaming of opening a café and soft play area for a while.

She said: "I've been saying that I'd love to open something like this for years and then, at the start of this year, my mum said 'Okay then let's do it.'

"I'm not sure when the ideas went from just being ideas and became 'oh wait we're actually going to do this.'

"We wanted to create a nice, safe space for mums to get together and a nice environment for the little ones; there's plenty for older children and teenagers to do in Evesham, but nowhere for pre-school children to go."

Hospitality is a new experience for Miss Carrick, who previously worked for the NHS at Bidford Health Centre in Alcester, while Mrs Churchill owns an art shop in Chipping Campden.

While the parents enjoy a selection of food and drink from the café, the children can enjoy the numerous play areas at the café, including the large soft play area and the mini role play café.

"My mum was originally an artist and she's created a large mural that pokes out above the play area," Miss Carrick explained, "we want to inspire creativity."

"We've got our opening day on Monday, September 2, where we'll have a special two-hour event between 11am and 1pm with a special appearance from Bluey.

"After that, we'll be open between 9am and 4pm Monday to Saturday.

"We're going to have two-hour sessions that people can book into, with a 30 minute break between each session so that everything can be cleaned to keep it safe."

While the secret garden is limited to children under the age of five during term time, Miss Carrick is looking at holding special sessions for older siblings during the school holidays.