A new café is now open at Royal Victoria Park as part of a £500,000 investment, with more now on offer for visitors following a number of improvements over the past few months.
The park, which attracts many thousands of visitors every year, features Botanical Gardens, floral and historical features as well as one of the biggest children’s play areas in the South West.
The café is the last in a number of major improvements to the play area and is now offering a wide range of quality and value for money refreshments for visitors to the park.
In the last year there have been many improvements made to pieces of play equipment, including the replacement of the climbing wall, refurbishment of a multi-play unit, upgrades to a number of swing surfaces, and installation of a new slide and large ‘viper’ social swing.
In addition to this, the £500,000 Royal Victoria Park investment also saw the successful refurbishment of the entire skate park and the installation of the new aerial walkway in the Great Dell.
Specialised BBQ tables and bins have also been installed and the investment also included improvements to the toilet block with unisex and disabled toilets and baby-changing facilities.
Councillor Martin Veal (Conservative, Bathavon North), Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “The eagerly awaited café opening to the public in Royal Victoria Park is the last of a series of improvements that the Council has invested in during the last year.
It’s another example of our commitment to improving facilities and visitor experience for everyone who visits the park, and the park is now set to provide high quality leisure opportunities for local people and visitors for years to come.”
The café is being run by WJ Catering, a South Gloucestershire-based family business, which has the exclusive licence for food and entertainment in the play area with the exception of ice cream.
As members of the Showman’s Guild, the company has access to a variety of children’s entertainments and rides such as a Pirate Assault inflatable, which was in place during the summer, and the carousel currently in the play area.
These will be made available frequently with different rides for certain weekends and special events.
Councillor Andrew Furse (Kingsmead), Liberal Democrat spokesperson on Finance, added: “I’m delighted that the improvements to Royal Victoria Park are almost complete.
“The revamp was overdue given that the skate park, for example, had gone 20 years without an update.
“All these improvements, which were funded under the Lib Dem administration, have improved the facilities for users of all ages.
“I look forward to seeing the park full of skaters, latte drinkers, BBQ-ers and Great Dell walkers.”
