Plans submitted for new cafe in Newbury's Victoria Park

Facility will also have toilets and changing rooms to serve tennis courts

PLANS for a new community café in Victoria Park in Newbury have been submitted.

Newbury Town Council, which owns the park, is hoping to replace the existing cafe and storage buildings currently on the park with a new solar-powered, energy efficient café.

The new facility’s kitchen and servery will be significantly improved with modern equipment and counters, and will have toilets and changing rooms to serve the nearby tennis courts.

In documents submitted to West Berkshire Council for consideration, the design and access statement said: “The current café and storage buildings have remained somewhat of an eyesore within the Victoria Park setting for many years.

“This replacement building seeks to create an attractive venue that will serve and increase the popularity of Victoria Park for visitors and users of the facilities.

“The design seeks to achieve a sustainable method of construction as well as have low running costs through the use of technology and energy efficient mechanical and electrical systems.

“Such systems will be noticeable through the use of solar panels on the southern aspect of the roof area, and will be a key visual aspect to the design.”

It’s currently unclear how the project will be paid for, although the council applied for a £250,000 loan with the Public Works Loans Board (PWLB) in October last year.

Plans to replace the existing café have been in the pipeline for many years, with the council first receiving approval to borrow money for the project in the form of a one year loan in December 2016.

The PWLB previously extended the loan twice but refused to extend the original approval for a third time, meaning that approval for the loan expired in January this year, leading to the new loan application.

Original plans for a 70-seater café – including toilets, an external water fountain, an office, CCTV and free Wi-Fi – were first submitted in November 2016.

However, the project ran into difficulties when the Environment Agency told the council it would have to raise the building above the surface of the park by 30cm to address flooding concerns.

Greenham Trust then pulled its own £250,000 funding contribution from the project in December 2017 after it said the scheme was not commercially viable, requiring the council to ask for the PWLB loan to be extended.