LOCAL residents have been angered by the lack of facilities in the King George V park with the summer holidays in full swing.
The cafe and its toilets have remained closed and the splashpad has been shut some days.
One grandparent, in a letter to Melksham News said, “We took our grandchildren to the park today. The splashpad was closed, the cafe was closed, there’s no toilets either and the park was packed with families. Is this what Melksham has to offer?
“There was a lone ice cream van who was making a killing, but that was it. Absolute rubbish!”
Another parent told Melksham News, “Surely the cafe could have been opened for just the summer? Ice creams are great but tea and coffee and simple snacks surely wouldn’t be too difficult. You wouldn’t need to have hot food. And even if the cafe wasn’t open, what about the toilets? It’s a long trek down to the toilets by the river, especially when you’ve got more than one child.”
At a recent town council meeting, local resident Pam Wiltshire asked, “You’ve got the ice cream van; can you advise me what’s happening about the pavilion (cafe)? There were so many families up there; all you can get up there is an ice cream; families don’t necessarily want that all day and it’s been a huge loss of revenue for the town.”
In reply, a spokesperson for the town council. said, “The council resolved to provide a temporary catering solution for the 2022 season – this has been provided in the form of Gabby’s ice cream van which I understand is a great success.
“The public consultation on the future of the Pavilion will be launched shortly, once the ‘blue sky thinking’ boards have been received from our consultants.
“The consultation will be carried out over the remainder of the summer and questionnaires available for completion. We hope to have the boards in four locations around the town to ensure the best possible coverage. They will also be on our website and Facebook page with the questionnaire.”
Back in March the town council agreed to find a temporary solution for a café for the summer and to appoint consultants to carry out a public consultation about the future use of the building, with the council planning to make a final decision by the autumn, and a ‘proper solution’ in place by summer 2023.
Councillors admitted to being ‘embarrassed’ about still having no clear long-term plan for the pavilion, despite discussing its future for years.
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