Newsletter - Sat 3 Jun , 2023

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and family. If you're receiving this newsletter from someone outside your household, please consider a 30-day free trial (Opens in a new window).

Park cafe retendering progresses

• Priory Park pavilion (April picture)

The retender process continues for the park cafes in Priory Park (Reigate), Memorial Park (Redhill) and Lady Neville Recreation Ground (Banstead).

The Reigate site has been vacant since the end of February, and the ones in Redhill and Banstead since late last year.

Asked for an update, the council said this week: "The previous tenant’s contract was due to end in October 2023, by which time the current reletting exercise was due to have concluded, however all premises were closed by them with very limited notice.

"Memorial Park Café and Lady Neville Café both went out for expressions of interest about six weeks ago and we have now invited best offers and business cases by mid-June.

"Priory Park pavilion has been marketed and offers received and shortlisted, with best and final offers invited by the end of May. At present we cannot estimate a timescale for occupation as this is dependent on the offer we receive and the incoming tenant’s fit-out requirements."

In Priory Park, a temporary kiosk is up and running in the meantime, in front of the pavilion.

But that's not the case in Redhill. The council said: "We have made multiple attempts to secure temporary food provision at Memorial Park but prospective operators concluded that it is not financially viable for them.

"We are yet to secure any operator for Lady Neville, for the same reasons."  

• A temporary kiosk is now operating in front of the Priory Park pavilion

Temporary fix coming for closed toilets in Memorial Park

• Closed: the cafe, with the toilets, in Redhill's Memorial Park

The fact that toilets remain open in the Priory Park pavilion building, but not in Memorial Park, is something that's proved controversial (Opens in a new window) on social media.

We asked the borough council why the Redhill building can't be partitioned to allow access to the WCs while the cafe is closed.

The council said this week: "We plan to provide a temporary portable convenience in Memorial Park shortly.

 "The toilets at Memorial Park are within the main café and the building design does not allow for a partition to be installed without significant expenditure. It would require partial removal of the ceiling covering and fixings into the vinyl flooring, which would be damaging to the building fabric and incur high reinstatement costs.

"In addition, lighting, fire protection and security alarms would all have to be adapted or installed to meet regulations and allow a safe environment users.

"Opening the entire facility to allow access to the toilets without these measures would also incur risk of vandalism and antisocial behaviour. We would also need to deploy cleaning, security and monitoring.

 "Priory Park pavilion is easier to separate due to the building design and the segregation of the toilets will be a permanent arrangement. Refurbishment works to the current toilets are due to begin soon and a temporary toilet block will be installed while works are undertaken."

• Inside the Memorial Park building - the toilets are the three single doors at the end: L-R green, purple/lilac (just visible) and pink