Its been 3 months since I had the idea to get CR0Tech up and running and am delighted with the progress made so far. Sorry this blog post is a little long, I skipped the month 2 update, so there is a lot to cover.

Community
I have met and had a positive meeting with Croydon Council who support the initiative in principle. We have some work to do before agreeing any kind of formal collaboration. The local MP, Gavin Barwell has also been positive about the idea as have other figures in local politics including former MP Andrew Pelling and other representatives of the Labour Party, Green Party and even the Monster Raving Loony Party. CR0Tech is a non-political venture and as such we welcome collaboration with almost everyone.

While the process of getting buy-in from central and local government has taken a back seat, progress is being made on other areas, particularly events. I have attended a range of networking and social events in the community over the past three months and am really pleased to have met hundreds of local people that are all passionate about Croydon's future and supportive of the CR0Tech concept.

A particular acknowledgement must be made for the #PurleyBreakfastClub organised by @98rosjon and @carlotarosa - I would probably not have had the motivation or determination needed to get this far without their support, encouragement and contacts. Huge, huge thanks to Jonny, Charlotte and everyone else that is involved or attends. You have been a tremendous source of inspiration.

Events
CR0Tech was formally launched at the "We Mean Business" event at Fairfield Halls at the start of November. It was a great event and I got to meet a bunch of people that were interested in using the coworking space as a result. Thanks to Maud Allen from The Best of Croydon on that front.

Also on the events front, CR0Tech teamed up with All About Croydon to expand on the existing Croydon Tweetups. We held our first one in November, it was the only officially sanctioned event that took place south of the river as part of Internet Week Europe. Organised at short notice, it was sponsored by Freelancer.co.uk and more than 20 people attended.

The second tweetup took place on Thursday 8th December at the Croydon Conference Centre. We had a free bar again, this time sponsored by CR0Tech and All About Croydon. Over 50 people came down to mingle and meet. The feedback so far has been excellent. We hope to double attendance again in January 2012 and will continue to offer complimentary drinks and free admission for the foreseeable future but will look at ways of using the event to raise funds for local charities.

After discussion with Paul from All About Croydon, we have agreed to collaborate on the Croydon Tweetup on an ongoing basis. It will now be a regular monthly event held on the 3rd Thursday of every month. We are also looking to work together to deliver a range of other events for Croydon in 2012.

Co-working & Coffeeshop
Without doubt lthe most exciting news is that I have found and agreed terms for a 10 year lease on a premises to be used as a public coffee shop and community coworking space in Croydon. The space which will be in the region of 400m2 is situated on Surrey Street in the heart of the Old Town. Its in the basement of the Folly's End building, accessible from street level via Mathews Yard. Physical work will commence before Christmas and we hope to have the premises up and running by no later than the end of March 2012.

The public part of the space will provide an extended hours Coffee shop focused on serving the finest tea and coffee in Croydon (without the gourmet price tag) and a selection of quality snacks and light bites freshly prepared on the premises. It will also offer free wireless internet and a trust-based charity bookshop facility. Subject to planning permission, licensing and available space we will also look at introducing a casual, comfortable bar.

The members area will provide flexible low-cost workspace including high speed secure wifi with hot-desking together with printing, scanning and copying facilities. We will provide meeting rooms, mailboxes and secure laptop storage bays as optional extras and hope to offer a range of other value added services in due course. Members will receive a discount on all purchases from the coffee shop.

I hope to strike a deal with Croydon Conference centre to offer members subsidised rates for hiring their venue upstairs for larger events. I hope to do a deal with the playgroup located on the top floor of the same building to try and secure members access to affordable and flexible childcare facilities. There is no parking on Surrey street, but many private car parks in the area offer all day parking for £5. We hope to negotiate a better rate for members.

PR & Marketing
Our PR & Marketing efforts have been limited so far, but we have already had an incredibly positive write-up on the Inside Croydon blog and I am assured by the Editor of the Croydon Guardian that they also ran a piece on CR0Tech in November (I hope to get a copy soon - if anyone saw it or has it - please let me know).

Jobs
We have introduced a jobs board, and any Croydon based technology jobs can be listed free of charge. Please send us a link through twitter or email to the job description and we will create the listing on your behalf.

As soon as we get closer to opening we will also have a range of positions which we will need to fill. We will initially be looking for three first rate, experienced baristas to run the coffee shop and a number of apprentices to provide general support, table service and be trained in all areas of running a coffee shop. Other opportunities will arise throughout 2012 and details will be published via the website.

If you have something to bring to the party, are interested in a job in the coffee shop or want to simply share your thoughts with us - I would be delighted to hear from you.