A cafe that has opened in Wroughton hopes to become a big part of the local community.

The Chicken Tree Cafe first opened its doors to customers in March, offering a range of 'tasty food' that has been well received by members of the public. 

The eatery is named after the now-destroyed former local landmark, the Wroughton chicken tree, which greeted motorists on the B4005 at Brimble Hill until its untimely 'decapitation' in February 2022. 

Many were upset at the loss of the bird-shaped tree, and there were even public calls for it to be remembered with a sculpture, and in July of the same year, Wroughton Parish Council even proposed adding the tree to new signage in Brimble Hill. 

Swindon Advertiser: The Ellendune cafe's owner David Fisher is hoping that people will come to look at the Chicken Tree cafe in the same way they did its namesake, and has set up a crowdfunder page to help him achieve this goal. 

On the page he said: "The goal is to provide a warm and welcoming place for locals and visitors to the village of Wroughton and surrounding areas, to enjoy home-cooked standard food from local food produce as well as beverages.

"Customers shall have the option of eating or takeaway as well as a delivery service being provided."

David added that he has plans for the venue to provide hours where the space can be hired by businesses and local groups for meetings and fund-raising events such as coffee mornings and tabletop sales. 

Swindon Advertiser: The Chicken Tree Cafe in WroughtonPlans are also in place for the cafe to build a relationship with the local secondary school and sixth form and put in place structures for a safe environment for students to have study evenings where they can get together at the cafe and revise together. 

David said his ultimate aim is to 'embed the business within the community' and he plans to start a local school-run food bank for parents of low-income, and concessions for the elderly as well as loyalty cards for students and local businesses as part of this as well. 

There was controversy surrounding the circumstances of the Chicken Tree’s demise at the time as some blamed workers carrying out unpopular roadworks on Brimble Hill. 

But Swindon Borough Council insisted that the branch forming the ‘head’ had fallen due to high winds.