Hundred-year-old pavilion gets new lease of life

The pavilion in Becket's Park is believed to be about 100 years old

A recent refurbishment of a 100-year-old pavilion has made a "big difference" to a town centre park, a voluntary group said.

The derelict building in Becket's Park in Northampton had stood empty for a number of years.

It has now been taken over and turned into a café for the park - which sits on the River Nene and opposite the town's university.

Nick Stephens, co-founder of Buddies of Becket's, said: "We've been looking forward to the opening of a café here for years."

Nick Stephens from Buddies of Becket's said it was great for the park to have a cafe

The voluntary group was formed in 2016 to help with the maintenance of the park, which can be found between the general hospital and Northampton Marina.

Mr Stephens said: "We thought the park needed a bit of improvement as it wasn't perfect then, had a bit of a reputation, and it was quite overgrown and unloved."

He said the group had "campaigned for over seven years for the pavilion to be brought back into use".

'Rotting away'

Mr Stephens described it as being "rundown over the years".

"It took a very long time for someone to get hold of the issue [of the pavilion] and sort it out," he said.

Leases were agreed last year by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) for the café - and for the voluntary group to use the building.

He said it was "built in the 1920s and originally was a pavilion for those who are playing bowls in the park".

The café opened in May and Mr Stephens said: "It's really nice, it makes it has made a big difference to the park."

Café owner Iain Hill said the first weeks since he opened had been positive

Iain Hill, the owner of the café, said he had "been trying to get this for nearly 15 years".

He said the building was "the perfect match" as he had previously run pubs, cafés and restaurants as well as renovating properties.

"The pavilion was here just rotting away, nothing was really happening and... I just saw the potential," he said.