Revamp for café at city park in prospect

A proposal to revamp the existing Bakery Café at Golden Acre Park in Leeds, which would include a conservatory being added to the upper level, will be debated by Leeds Council’s executive board on January 9.

The project would be overseen by the council’s parks and countryside service, with funding worth over £100,000 coming from a sponsorship agreement with local company Franklin Windows Limited.

As part of the extension and refurbishment of the café, a Changing Places toilet facility would also be installed, suitable for people with disabilities and including a baby changing space.

This would be funded by £45,000 from the council’s adult social care service, while the council would commit a further £28,000 funding to the project for materials and other costs.

Leeds City Council executive member for the environment Coun Mark Dobson said: “Golden Acre Park is one the busiest parks in the city in terms of visitor numbers, and during busy times the café area cannot cope with demand so this proposed extension and refurbishment would help to solve that problem and also be an attractive venue in its own right for people and companies to hire and make use of.”

The proposed conservatory would offer increased seating on the upper patio level of the café for 40 extra people taking the capacity to 86 people who could be catered for indoors. The existing lower level of the café would be reconfigured to retain the existing outdoor seating capacity for 80 people, while the décor and furniture would also be updated.