‘From a twinkle in the eye to the safe arrival of a big bouncing baby’ – Truro City Councillor Lorrie Eathorne- Gibbons thanked everyone who has supported the authority on its journey to deliver a new era for Boscawen Park as she cut a ribbon to mark the official opening of the transformed café facilities on Thursday, 22 June.
Welcoming guests to the ceremony, Councillor Eathorne-Gibbons, Chair of the Council’s Parks and Amenities Committee, said the official opening of the new Café in the Park was a very special moment, both for the City Council and for Truro.
“While there was certainly some blood, sweat and tears along the way, we always had faith in what we were doing” she said. “I would particularly like to thank Richard Budge, without whom this project would never have happened, and the previous Chair of the Parks and Amenities Committee Councillor Lindsey Southcombe, for her commitment to the project.
“This new building is a great addition to Boscawen Park and I would encourage everyone to use it” .
As well as the café, the facilities include new tennis changing and shower rooms, extra public toilets, and a room for the Truro Loops project.
The project, which took just over 12 months to complete, was carried out with the support of a number of local companies and partners. Thanking everyone who had been involved, Richard Budge, the Council’s Parks, Amenities & Facilities Officer , paid particular tribute to Tony Smith, from Truro based architects Lavigne Londsale, who did the original designs for the building but sadly passed away before the start of construction.
Others involved with the project include Martyn Lonsdale and Andrew Walker, from Lavigne Londsdale, who took over the design work and project managed the construction; Dave Hitt and Colin Dell from Fifields Construction who successfully overcame the challenges of sourcing materials to carry out construction during the Covid pandemic; quantity surveyor Ed Crossley; Ward Williams, who managed the works to the car park, and Sport England and the Lawn Tennis Association, who provided some of the funding for the building.
“This is a very proud day for everyone who has worked so hard to make this project a success” said Richard Budge. “Yes, we did face some challenges along the way, but we got here in the end.
“As well as the people who helped to design and build these fantastic new facilities, I would like to thank the café staff -Lloyd Stevens, Haidee Evans and Joanne Martin – who continued to provide a service for park users from a temporary cabin; maintenance staff from the Council’s Parks Department, who stepped in to install the new kitchen following pressures on the budget; Jan Thompson and Abi Steel for their work on designing the branding and creating the new logo; Adrian Card for ensuring that the new facilities are compliant and all the sub contractors who have been involved with the project.”
“I would also like to thank Town Clerk Roger Gazzard for his unwavering commitment to the project; the City Councillors for their support and belief in our mad vision of what we could achieve, and everyone in the Parks and Gardens Department for going over and above their normal work to make this happen”.
Guests at this week’s official opening were welcomed by Town Crier Lionel Knight, and Truro Mayor, Councillor Carol Swain, who praised the support provided by the previous Mayor and thanked everyone who had worked so hard to get the project completed.
The exterior of the café is clad in wood from trees in the park which had previously been felled because of their condition, providing a wonderful link between the park and the new facilities.
With three new members of staff – Craig Parsons, Dylan Haworth and Emma Hill, recently joining the team at Café in the Park, plans are being developed to extend the current menu of wonderful coffee, tea, cakes and sandwiches in the coming months. Watch out for more information on the City Council’s website and social media channels.
