A NEW community cafe will be launched at Hull Road Park today as part of a family fun day.

The event takes place between 1pm and 4pm tomorrow, Saturday, and as well as the cafe launch there will be an assault, climbing wall, crazy golf and other activities. The community cafe will be run by Choose2Youth, a charity working with young people and adults with disabilities and additional needs.

Ward councillor Michael Pavlovic said: “The cafe opening is the culmination of a lot of hard work from council officers, volunteers and councillors in Hull Road ward, including my colleagues Neil Barnes and Hilary Shepherd. But it’s important to note that this is just one part of a wider rejuvenation of the park which now includes functioning public toilets, both for the park and for the cafe.

“The pavilion has been painted and the beck is to be cleared out in the near future. The park is a great community resource and we really want to make the most of it, making it somewhere people can come and spend a few hours. The absence of functioning toilets is a barrier that has now been removed which is a great step forwards."

Cllr Hilary Shepherd has been working on the cafe project since being elected to the council in 2015.

She added: “The cafe is much more than just a place to pop in for a cup of tea. It’s a space that people can hire out for meetings and events in such a great setting.

“We’re really keen for people to come down and support the Party in the Park on Saturday and check out the cafe for themselves. I’m optimistic about the future both for the cafe and for the park more generally. It’s on the up and we want to ensure it’s somewhere people can go for all sorts of reasons, including being active through use of the tennis and basketball courts."