Meals van would 'let down' Hotham Park
Installing a meals on wheels van would let down Hotham Park in Bognor Regis, councillors have been told.
Hotham Park Heritage Trust chairman Rosemary Warren said the historic surroundings of the popular open space deserved more than a temporary refreshments service.
Mrs Warren said the trust's members – and the hundreds of people who signed a petition demanding a cafe in the park – believed the lack of a proper eating place would harm the regenerated park.
"The spending of 2.2m on the park must surely justify more than an ice cream or ice-lolly van or bottled drinks being the only form of refreshment available," she said.
"People want to be able to sit down as a family and eat a meal with a cup of tea or a coffee or have a snack.
"The cafe has been a feature of the park for many years and its closure and replacement by a temporary facility will be a retrograde step at a time when the park is enjoying a new lease of life."
She told members of Arun District Council she failed to understand the council's reasoning no permanent cafe could be provided once the current service's agreement ended this December 31 until a new cafe was opened elsewhere in the park.
"I fail to see how the viability of the new facility will be affected by the existing cafe staying open," she said.
This was even more the case with a new cafe unlikely to open until well into 2011 at the earliest.
She stated either the existing cafe operator should be asked to stay on or a new operator sought for the current building.
She added the trust's concerns that Inspire Leisure was selling ice creams and soft drinks from two outlets in the park and asked why this was allowed.
Mrs Warren made her comments as a 376-signature petition demanding a cafe remain in the park was formally accepted by Arun's chairman, Dudley Wensley.
This will be considered by the council's environment scrutiny working party when it meets in private on September 27.
Senior Arun councillor Paul Wotherspoon told Mrs Warren he would answer her questions about the cafe's future in writing.
The Observer has reported preliminary talks have been held between the council and the proposer and possible operator of an innovative T-House cafe in the park's trees. Further talks are planned.
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Monday 28 May 2012
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